Anchor Realty in Oak Bluffs is offering free coats for Islanders in need. Their coats, weather permitting, hang outside of their office building for anyone to take. They have a number of sizes, from children to adults. Lisa Lucier, the owner of Anchor Realty, said the coat giveaway will go on through February. She added the company’s giveaway started around four years ago. Lucier and her agents went through their closets for extra coats to donate.
“They were gone as soon as we put them out there,” Lucier said. The Anchor Realty team then reached out to friends for extra coats. She said the initial effort was “slow to build,” but they were meeting a need on the Island.
A part of Lucier’s inspiration for this act of charity was growing up and watching her mother do something similar. Lucier’s mother used to gather coats for the children at Penikese Island School. “I was bringing coats from the Island to the Cape, to Woods Hole. But there’s definitely a need here. So we just decided to carry it on.”
Lucier said Anchor Realty used to work together with Clothes to Go, a clothes program run by the United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard. Anchor Realty would take coats Clothes to Go did not have the room to store. The partnership stopped when COVID forced Clothes to Go operations to be suspended, so Anchor Realty spread the word of their coat giveaway through social media and word of mouth.
“We continued it, and we noticed it was even more of a need. The need was growing,” Lucier said. She mentioned that the “amazing generosity” of Islanders makes the giveaway such a success. “Last year, somebody brought in a whole case of little throw blankets and hand warmers and things like that, because we do have a community here that don’t have great places to live. That might be a car, we don’t know that. So warmer, big coats go quickly, and we know there’s still a need, and we hope to continue.”
Lucier encourages Islanders who have an extra coat or who need to clean out some coats from their closets to send them to Anchor Realty. She also encourages people to donate to Clothes to Go, which is back in operation at the Stone Church in Vineyard Haven.
“I mean, how many coats can you wear at once, you know?” she said with a chuckle.
Anchor Realty is also accepting coat donations. To donate or take a coat, visit Anchor Realty on 41 Circuit Ave. in Oak Bluffs. The office is open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm daily. Anchor Realty can also be reached by phone at 508-696-7777.
