GPCA member companies and individuals stepped up for the second annual PestVets Coat drive.
PestVets is chaired by Chuck Carney of Cook's Pest Control and Xavier Cugnon of Arrow Exterminators. Despite their best efforts, an exact coat count wasn't possible due to the sheer volume of coats received.
"I am not sure what the final count was," Cugnon said in an email thanking volunteers, "but clearly it was in the 1,500 to 2K range!"
Volunteers gathering on Dec. 1 to sort the coats into sizes and weed out coats that were not in the best of conditions. As the day was winding down, Afghan refugees who are being staged to enter the US in East Atlanta came in for coats for their families.
"Many of us (veterans) felt helpless learning of the clumsy withdraw from Afghanistan. I would not have imagined this coat drive would put clothing on the back of Afghans whose family members stood by our American military. This brings me more peace than you know. The work we are doing is delivering real results," Cugnon said in a thank you email to volunteers.