Justin Morneau Partners With Police for Coat Drive
A pair of local baseball legends met with police on Friday, Dec. 20 to celebrate the spirit of giving.
Justin Morneau hosted a winter coat drive, working with local police departments to collect new and used coats.
Several departments in the northwest suburbs — including Maple Grove, Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale and Osseo — participated in the drive.
They met in Mounds View to load the coats in a truck bound for the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center.
“Even though it seems like a small thing, a minor thing, it really has a huge impact, so can’t say how grateful — how grateful we are and how thankful we are that you guys all are involved in this,” Morneau said.
Twins Hall-of-Famer Joe Mauer also made an appearance at the event.
Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer pose for a photo with a police officer.
All together, the departments brought in about 3,000 coats.
The Maple Grove Police Department collected just short of 400 coats, the second most of any participating department.
Cmdr. Jon Wetternach said his department often sees a need for warm clothes in the community.
“There are people that are in need and the community really came together to contribute a lot of coats — 398 of them — to help distribute throughout the metro area to help people in need,” he said.
In eight years, 10 police departments have donated about 22,000 coats to charity.
