12-Year-Old Arizona Girl Collects 1,000 Coats for the Homeless

A 12-year-old Arizona girl spent her holiday season collecting coats for those in need.

Makenna Breading-Goodrich dropped off about 1,000 items at Phoenix Rescue Mission Shelter on Dec. 12, after going door-to-door collecting coats, jackets and hoodies for the homeless. The seventh-grader told People that she wants to help those in need keep warm for the winter.

“It gets really cold around here at night, like 30 degrees, and I want to make sure homeless people aren’t walking around without jackets or blankets at night!” Makenna said. “I just want people to know someone cares about them.”

She has been taking donations for four years through an organization she started, called Makenna’s Coats for a Cause. Each November, she begins traveling her neighborhood in Surprise, Ariz., collecting jackets on her red wagon.

“Something small can make a big difference,” she told People. “I want this to spread. A little kindness can inspire others!”