It’s become a regular mission for Syracuse hip-hop artists R Source and Tyler Walton.
For the fourth year in a row, R R Source and Dutch Beetz have organized their Beat the Cole for the Kids campaign.
The versatile entertainment veterans ask everybody to open their hearts and look in their closets for new warm coats, gloves and mittens that may have been put away, forgotten about and never worn. Or maybe take a trip to the store to buy one to donate so those less fortunate can use them to keep warm in the long, cold Syracuse winters.
Campaign Poster
The poster above is pretty marvelous, don’t you think?
Matthew Reschke, who performs as R Source, sent over the following news release:
Dutch Beetz and R Source team up together again for their fourth annual ‘Beat the Cold for the Kids Campaign’ where brand new hats, mittens, gloves, scarfs and socks are collected and distributed to children in need throughout the Central New York region alongside the Salvation Army. Last year over 3218 items were collected.
Dutch Beetz (Tyler Walton) is a local producer who recently started working at the new Infinite Clip Studio in Syracuse. His mother Lisa is his manager and the founder of the Campaign.
2010 Sammy Award winner for best Hip Hop (album) R Source, sometimes known as DJ R Source, has been a local radio DJ over the years (WLMU, WJPZ), a songwriter and hosted many music shows, joined on immediately in 2011 when Lisa Walton began to pitch the idea to him.
• Over 7000 items have been collected in 4 years.
• A bunch of local businesses get involved all listed on the flyer. Each year the list of participants grows.
• Studio Dog Pro, also a local music outlet, is involved in helping out the cause!
They’ve designated seven collection points, six in Syracuse and one in nearby Chittenango. They’re listed on the poster above. Items can be left at these locations until Monday, Dec. 15.
If you’d like more information or would like to help from outside the Central New York area, Lisa Walton can be contacted through her Facebook page.
Have you ever discovered forgotten new and unworn coats your kids since outgrew in your closet, and if so, what did you do with them? Can you offer any suggestions to help this campaign flourish? Who are your favorite hip-hop artists?
Mark Bialczak 
i love this. my worry is always that people are cold or hungry. fantastic cause, fantastic poster. i always donate our gently used warm gear to salvation army, etc. and love to take families shopping with the local ‘warm the children’ program for winter clothes for the kids. )
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Great Cause, Mr. B! 🙂
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Yes, indeed it is, Mrs. B!
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That is so cool! They should put those posters around schools so other parents can help. 🙂
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I think the posters are pretty far-flung, Rachel. I hope. Seeing how many items they collected last year, I think so!
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Maybe posters in restaurants?
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beautiful and great post
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Thank you, Leyla. ❤
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We do this at work all winter long. A local dry cleaner will clean donated coats. People can bring them in. We hang them in the lobby. Which is perfect as it is the building for services for those in need. During this season there is also a Christmas tree with hats and gloves on it. Coats and hats and gloves are there for the taking for anyone who needs them. It seems to work out very well, No one needs to ask. Anyone can take. And anyone can give.
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That’s a great system, Colleen. It removes a lot of steps and stigma. 🙂
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It does. It’s so nice to see it work so simply for everyone.
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Everything outgrown here is personally taken to families in need. Always. A worthy cause, Chum.
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Beaufiful, Aud. That’s the way to live and teach your children. 🙂
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I donate sweaters, gloves and coats to different organizations, our Christmas Clearinghouse only takes new ones.. the P.I.N. takes used, (People in Need). I donate soup and food items there, too. All good services you listed here and always appreciate your open, giving heart, Mark!!
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You are a good, giving person, Robin. All seasons, I’m sure.
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Very nice poster and I always like when people promote helping the less fortunate. It’s nice that more people get involve and the number of donations are increasing. It helps with the fate of humanity. Especially during this time of the year.
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Helping, helping, helping. We can never get enough of that in this world of ours. Thanks, Kim.
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We always pack up our kids clothes & coats and donate the too small ones to Goodwill. Sometimes it takes a while to get them out of the house, but I figure if the clothes are still in good shape, why not try to help out? I know when we were hurting financially, Goodwill was a Godsend. Very cool of you to promote this effort, Mark!
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You guys do it the right way, Mrs. C.
Even now in our adults-only house, my dear wife Karen and I pack our out-of-rotation clothes when something new comes along into a bag. Our Wegmans supermarket puts a Rescue Mission trailer staffed with a volunteer in every one of their store parking lots, which is both handy and fantastic. That’s our local Syracuse shelter for men, women and children with many, many services.
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I have to say that I have never discovered new items in my closet that I’d forgotten about Mark. Love that they’re collecting warm clothes for kids though and love that you’re promoting their efforts! ❤
Diana xo
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Mostly I think that happens with kids coats, Diana. A grand gives a present or you’re shopping and see a sale of sizes way big and you buy one and stow it away for a couple years down the road and promptly forget about it. Yes it did happen with my mother buying too much for my daughter. 🙂
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That makes sense. Never happened to me, even with my daughter. 🙂
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My mother shopped too much. And she was a bit of a hoarder of these items. May she RIP. Every time she and her husband Walter came to visit us from Long Island their car was FULL of gifts. I don’t know how that guy saw out of any of his mirrors to drive safely. And if I said, Ma, really, too much, she’d get hurt feelings. I have to do a post about this, Diana. ❤
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love this time of year for all of the extra effort to help folks who might not be staying warm or getting Christmas presents, etc otherwise. We have so many coats in our closet and it’s pathetic how few I’m willing to give up of mine. Am such a girl that way–thinking there’s a need for all of them. The kids grow out of theirs, but they wear them so hard I’d never dare send them on someone else.
That IS a great poster–eye-catching and also has all the important info. Usually, I’m lucky if I intercept a flyer that comes home with one of my girls. The programs aren’t marketed well, but have been around so long I should probably just know to send stuff in.
Does de la Soul count as hip-hop? Thinking no, but I’m still stuck in the ’80s, remember? Oh oh oh–I just googled and they ARE hip hop and they started on Long Island 🙂 Even better, they are credited with pushing the evolution of jazz hip hop (?) forward. Knew I had good taste, haha.
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Great taste in hip hop and many other things, Liz. Likely the coats you stow in your closet, too, I dare say. 🙂 Throw some dollars into the big red kettle. I’m going to make sure to do that, too.
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I was going to mention the kettle, Mark! But thought maybe too off-topic. (ha, because de La Soul was on-topic) My MO is to always put a dollar bill in a kettle when I walk by a ringer. And next week, my youngest’s Brownie troop is ringing the bell at a local grocer’s. Love that she’ll be a part of that and my plan is to ring alongside her. When I’m not inside buying hot chocolates. Hope it’s not too cold!
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That’s a great thing to do with the Brownie (name escapes me), Liz. Enjoy and bond.
When I worked for the big daily I did the Old Newsboys drive every year and collected for our toy fund. I’d stand outside Borders (inside a mall, I knew a good spot when I saw it and called dibs after the first year) and because I was the music critic people buying CDs would throw me a couple bucks especially. A few times I got 20s given to me. I’d do good. It made me very happy to participate. Now both Borders and I are gone from that spot in the mall.
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Awesome project Mark. that is one of my pet causes – keeping children warm in winter. Here in Ottawa there is a charity called Children’s Snowsuit Fund and they hook up with bands, companies, or anyone who wants to contribute. They already have the distribution system in place with contacts in shelters, community centers, city Emergency Health dept, etc. So they know which children and families need the help and can direct any snow suits, hats , mitts, boots to where they will do the most good. They have a number of organized fund/goods raising activities each year. When they do all the backroom and delivery activity, it leaves fundraisers unencumbered by administrative tasks so they can focus n their music, or whatever they are doing to raise funds/goods. They will take used suits or new or money which they convert to suits. they can stretch a dollar until it screams, as they have negotiated supply agreements with sellers who take a donation tax receipt in return for discounting the suits.
Excellent cause – thanks so much for posting this Mark – the more awareness of children’s needs in our climate, the better.
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I love the program set up in Ottawa, Paul, plus your desciption of stretching a dollar until it screams. Bravo on the workers keeping children warm and your way with words about how they do it where you live, my friend. I’m all for both.
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Seems to me if they ask for gently used coats, gloves, hats and/or new ones they would get a lot more! Most people don’t have brand new coats, hats, gloves they don’t use/haven’t used.
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There are many drives that already collect gently used clothing. I believe this is done to differentiate and get badly needed new things. And also because people do care. Thanks, PJ. You have a great heart.
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