It’s only getting colder

Lighthouse Mission in desperate need for coats, hats and gloves

Nicole Fuentes

Posted 1/9/25

Five days a week at nine outreach posts throughout Suffolk County, Lighthouse Mission of Bellport serves hundreds of people by providing them with food, groceries, clothing and prayer.

In 2022, …

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It’s only getting colder

Lighthouse Mission in desperate need for coats, hats and gloves

This year, as the numbers for those in need continue to rise, pastor Jim Ryan, from the Lighthouse Mission in Bellport, expects to not only match last year’s 4,200 coat distribution but exceed it, should donations allow.

Adv/Fuentes

Posted Wednesday, January 8, 2025 12:00 am

OTHER PLACES TO DONATE COATS

Brookhaven Town

Interface Coat Drive

The Town of Brookhaven Youth Bureau will hold its annual Interface Coat Drive to help residents in need stay warm this winter. Donations of new or gently used clean coats, scarves, hats and gloves in infant to adult sizes can be dropped off.

Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville

Brookhaven Highway Department, 1140 Old Town Road, Coram

Henrietta Acampora Recreation Center, 39 Montauk Highway in Blue Point

Moriches Bay Recreation Center, 313 Frowein Road, Center Moriches

Brookhaven Town Vehicle Control Building, 550 North Ocean Avenue, Patchogue

Hours of operation for the Town of Brookhaven Youth Bureau INTERFACE Program’s annual Coat Drive are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For further information, please contact Josie Lunde at the Town of Brookhaven Youth Bureau or call at 631-451-8011.

Angels of Long Island,

350-23 E Main St., East Patchogue:

Hours: Mon-Sat: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Nicole Fuentes

Five days a week at nine outreach posts throughout Suffolk County, Lighthouse Mission of Bellport serves hundreds of people by providing them with food, groceries, clothing and prayer.

In 2022, the nonprofit saw a huge spike in those that it served—120,367 people, to be exact—up 9 percent from 109,509 people in 2021.

In 2023, those numbers were 118,772 with 10 distribution locations. Last year, in 2024, the number was 120,480 people with nine distribution locations.

Though the worst number the mission has ever seen was the 151,340 served in 2012, yearly numbers have been pretty steady on a month-to-month basis.

How do they know? According to pastor Jim Ryan, the mission requires signatures of every recipient, not used for anything other than counting for the purpose of adequately loading the trucks at each post and for the yearly service numbers.

Lighthouse Mission, he added, relies solely on donations from individuals; despite the increasing need, the amount of donations has currently stayed the same.

“We need your help to continue,” he said, desperate for donations.

WHAT THEY NEED

Other than the obvious request for nonperishables, Lighthouse Mission is currently in desperate need of glove, hat and coat donations. Children’s sizes are always appreciated, but according to Ryan, large and XL coats can fit just about anybody.

“It’s a pretty desperate situation out there,” Ryan explained, noting the temperatures outside. “It’s cold. Hats and gloves, even the cheap stretchy ones that will fit anyone, are a blessing.”

Last year, in their largest efforts yet, the Mission handed out over 4,200 winter coats. This year, as the numbers for those in need continue to increase, he said, he expects to not only match that number but exceed it, should donations allow.

Also, coats, gloves and hats, he explained, are not going overseas, but rather to cold and needy neighbors as close as Patchogue, Bellport and Coram.

To donate, visit the Lighthouse Mission at 1543 Montauk Highway in Bellport.

The Lighthouse Mission is open on Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s located at 1543 Montauk Highway in Bellport. Call 631-758-7584 for more information or visit its website at LighthouseMission.com. To donate funds, go to LighthouseGIVE.com.