Boy, 10, ensures hundreds of Mercer residents will have winter coats

HAMILTON, N.J. — For many, the frigid temperatures at this time of the year are unbearable and one just cannot be warm enough, and so a boy name Max Frost has decided to help keep area residents very warm.

Max, who is 10-years-old, has been collecting coats for Mercer County residents since November 2015.

He says, “I feel like a good person because I’m giving back to the community. Not everyone is fortunate to have a coat and I like to help keep them warm.”

His interest began when his mother, Tammy Frost, taped a television show for him that they watched together on ABC television, where he saw the kickoff for Warm Coats & Warm Hearts drive.

The other young kids that were putting coats in the box influenced Max, and he wanted to help too, said his mother.

When Max first started on his journey to collect winter coats, he ended up with 170 coats his first year. But by November 2016, before the coat drive began again, people were enthusiastic about donating coats to Max, said his mother. He collected 530 coats that year.

This year, he has collected more than 600 coats already, said Frost.

So, Max’s efforts have been successful.

He has several locations with donation boxes in Mercer County. Also, his mother posts photos and updates on social media each week, where the community, and even a producer from Good Morning America (GMA) program on ABC television have noticed.

And, this has bought Max even more attention. His mother received a private message via Facebook from the GMA producer who saw social media photos and videos of Max making donation boxes and collecting coats.

As a result, Max has had several cameo appearances on GMA, with the latest one Dec. 21, last month.

Max’s mother says the effort gets bigger each year. She says strangers send her private messages on social media and are bringing coats to their house.

She says friends of friends in the Hamilton and surrounding areas know about it, and that they help Max with his donations.

Actually, the coat collections initiative is a nationwide event that is in its 11th year. Burlington stores and the non-profit organization, Delivering Good sponsor Warm Coats & Warm Hearts.

The coat drive officially begins Jan. 22, 2018.

At the moment, people can drop off coats at The Beauty Room, 650 Rt. 206 in Bordentown, and at the Law Office of Brian Hofmeister, 3131 Princeton Pike, Suite 5, Building 110, Lawrenceville, said Tammy.

People who need coats that range from infant to adult sizes can pick them up at Catholic Charities, which is one of several organizations in Mercer County that distributes them, said Tammy Frost.