10 Favorite Moments from This Year’s Charlotte Coat Drive & Why We Love Community

It all started nine years ago with a small donation of coats from Charlotte Mechanical’s owners Steve and Nancy McLaughlin and their friends. Today, the Charlotte Coat Drive is the company’s largest community event.

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This year’s Annual Charlotte Coat Drive was one for the books - and the coats. 

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With a record-breaking almost 3,800 (and still counting!) coats collected, we’re more than thrilled as to what we can make possible for The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte - more than almost 3,800 men, women, and children will be warm and ready for a bitterly cold winter ahead. 

If you missed the Warmup Finale Party on Friday, November 15 at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, we’ll catch you up with our 10 favorite moments that warm our hearts. We also invite you to see a handful of our favorite pictures via our Facebook page.  

1. Warm chicken biscuit sandwiches provides by the Chick-fil-A South Boulevard. 
2. Charlotte Knights’ mascot, Homer the Dragon, warming up the morning commuters on Morehead Street and taking breaks to play cornhole with Charlotte Mechanical team members. 
3. Three North Carolina Highway Patrol officers dropping off coats collected from the Department of Public Safety - and posing for pictures with Homer. 
4. 107.9 The Link starting our day off right with music, games, and prizes. 
5. Chubby Checker warmed our hearts as he greeted guests and served as one of our favorite poster ‘bears’ of the Coat Drive. 
6. Three cheers for the Checkmate cheerleaders; Megan and Haley were all smiles as they cheered on guests and Charlotte Mechanical team members through the cold rain. 
7. Lindsey Regan Thorne taught us how to warm up our winter looks with a special model and Charlotte celebrity, Emily Maynard Johnson. 
8. Carolina DJ Professionals spun some perfect Friday tunes through the lunch hour and early afternoon as guests drove through the parking lot to drop off coats and pick up lunches provided by Dilworth Neighborhood Grille.  
9. Sound the alarms! We had two special visits from the Charlotte Fire Department. 
10. A handful of friendly and excited Charlotte Mechanical employees taking shifts to welcome and high-five visitors dropping off coats!  

It was one amazing and inspiring day to be together and to serve others. 

So, why do we — a local heating, cooling and plumbing company — engage our team and activate partners across the region in an initiative like the Charlotte Coat Drive? 

One word: People.

We love people. And we love the magic that happens when people come together to serve others.   

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As the first community-driven HVAC company in Charlotte, community outreach is one of our main pillars. Giving back is an important part of our culture and energy. It’s also a lot of fun.

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Ginger Tayara from Charlotte Mechanical’s Dispatch team said it best when she spoke these warm words from a cold Warmup Finale Party: “It’s just so much fun to give back to the community.” 

SPECIAL NOTE: Even though the official Charlotte Coat Drive campaign has concluded, you can still help keep Charlotte warm! We'll be collecting new and gently used coats through December at the Charlotte Mechanical office. Please get in touch with us (coatdrive@charlottemechanical.com) if you have coats to donate, and we'll make sure to point you in the right direction.