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Thursday 31 Oct 2024

A warm welcome for Cosy Coats charity at Birmingham New Street

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

A special pop-up charity shop supporting children and their families this winter has celebrated its third year at Birmingham New Street station.

Cosy Coats charity, founded by Network Rail’s Mark Goodall who is originally from Birmingham, provides warm, fashionable and brand-new clothes for school children whose families may not be able to afford them.

The annual pop-up was in Birmingham New Street today (Thursday 31 October) and once again passengers, shoppers and visitors provided generous support for the charity. In 2022, coats sold out in just three hours and in 2023 more than £1,200 was raised through donations.

The team of volunteers who have helped to support the charity today hope this year’s total will be even higher - and will be on the station concourse until 6pm to raise as much as possible.

The charity works by collecting donations towards coats, shoes, and other warm clothes which will be offered to families across the UK. Working with school support workers, children are then given the chance to choose the clothes themselves, so they can feel confident and comfortable in their new winter warmers.

During 2023, the charity provided coats and warm shoes for around 400 children across 80 schools in England, and children in the care of Birmingham Children’s Trust.

Mark Goodall, Cosy Coats founder and Wessex route director at Network Rail, said:  "At Cosy Coats, we believe that a coat not only provides warmth, it provides belonging and self-esteem.

“Today, kids are coming into school in plimsolls and without coats. It is a fact that, once your feet and body get cold, it can take a long time to warm up and that's just miserable in school. My research found that, while there are quite a few charities that help with hand-me-down school uniforms, there is a gap with coats and shoes so that's why I launched Cosy Coats."

“Cosy Coats work with schools and other organisations to identify children and families in need of new coats. The children identified are able to choose a coat of choice from high street providers such as Next or Marks & Spencer which ensures they are wearing a coat they are proud of, and something that is new and theirs. Most of the time, children never find out that a charity purchased their coat.”

“Please come along to our pop-up event at Birmingham New Street station today – any donation is welcome!”

Steven Ireland, head of stations, security and customer relationship management for Network Rail’s Central route, said: “We’re really pleased to have welcomed Cosy Coats charity back to the station this year.

“We’re always happy to support charities in the station and being right at the heart of the city centre means we can access even more people who want to support great initiatives such as this.”

The pop-up shop is the latest in a long line of events held at Birmingham New Street as part of its ongoing efforts to support charities and surrounding communities across the West Midlands.