Winter clothing drive hits the road for people in need

MONDOVI, Wis. (WEAU) -With colder weather on the horizon, a Mondovi couple is looking to make sure everyone can stay warm with the help of a trailer.

Jim and Donna Hubert started a mission 4 years ago to make sure people in need have access to winter clothes through the Luke 3:11 Project, a registered nonprofit. They begin collecting winter outerwear in January and then distribute the clothes to around 25 cities in Wisconsin with a seven by twelve foot trailer at no cost for people in need.

When Mondovi resident Jim Hubert had a hip replacement in 2019 he knew he would be off his feet. What he did not know is that sitting around would inspire him to think about the hardships people face.

“Started thinking about the people on the street and what they’re doing,” Hubert said. “Then that just kind of led to the horse trailer.”

From that, the Luke 3:11 project was born. Hubert and his wife began a mission of filling a horse trailer with winter outerwear to give to people in need but quickly learned that a horse trailer was not the right fit.

“With a horse trailer the way it bounces down the road…what happened is that every time we stopped everything would be on the floor,” Hubert said. “So, we got through the first year. Froze. Didn’t have any heat. We sold the horse trailer and bought this.”

With the new trailer at the ready, they were off to the races collecting winter outerwear such as coats, boots, hats, gloves, and scarves. Hubert said they also have quilts and blankets. The duo collects the winter goods starting in January and then travels to food pantries, churches, fire stations, and more to distribute the clothes from October to December.

James Musgrave, a past coordinator of the Plum City Food Pantry, where the project stopped annually, said watching the impact of the mobile clothing drive on the people it served was moving.

“Smiles, happiness, some tears,” Musgrave said. “The interaction with the children, knowing they got something special that was theirs. That was the joy of the opportunity.”

Overall Hubert said their mission is to help support people in more rural areas where lack of access to resources is greater. He said they have traveled as far as Bloomer, WI to distribute the outerwear.

“We try to help people in the rural areas where the need is greater and the people maybe don’t have the access to come up to Eau Claire or other things,” Hubert said.

Project Luke 3:11 has mapped out a winter schedule of where they will be on certain dates distributing outwear. They will begin distributing clothes in October. The schedule can be found on the Luke 3:11 Facebook page.

Hubert said that people looking to support the project can help them purchase hygiene products and larger sizes of coats that are difficult to come across through donations.

To make a donation towards purchasing items or to donate winter outerwear in good condition Hubert said people can send him a message on Facebook. To access the page click here.

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