Mayor Mahlon Luttrell on Monday launched the City of Bristol, Tennessee’s 6th annual Spread the Glove campaign, an annual event that provides gloves and other cold-weather items to those in need, by tying donated items to trees and lampposts along State Street.
Organized by the City’s Department of Community Relations, the program has traditionally invited community members to take donated items to drop-off locations throughout the City. These items are then tagged with a message that reads “I am not lost. Please take this to keep warm!” or a similar message, then placed in public areas downtown. Through this program, gloves, hats, scarves, and other items are provided at no charge to those who need them on cold days.
More than 800 items were collected during last year’s relatively mild winter, leaving a generous inventory for distribution in the coming months. Because of the ample supply on hand and the ongoing health crisis, donation bins will not be placed in City buildings this year. Should additional items be needed later in the season, several community organizations and church groups have offered to help. Items collected will be held for a period of time to ensure they are safe for distribution.
An estimated 3,300 hats, gloves, scarves, mittens, blankets, earmuffs, sweaters, and jackets have been donated to the Spread the Glove program since its inception in 2015. For additional information about the program, please contact the Department of Community Relations at (423) 764-4171 or [email protected].
