By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

While the day after Thanksgiving is the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, a number of activists and citizens  will be taking part in the 12th annual Buy Nothing Day. As part of the event, sponsors hold a winter coat exchange at several locations throughout the state, including downtown Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket.

On Friday, Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange will be held at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, 175 Main St., Pawtucket, and at the St. Ann’s Arts and Cultural Center, 84 Cumberland St., Woonsocket. Other locations include the State House lawn, St. Paul’s Church, at 12 West Marlborough St., Newport and at St. Francis Church, 114 High St., Wakefield.
Sponsors say, “If you have a coat to give, please drop it off. If you need a coat, please pick one up.”
Arthur Plitt, of the Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket, said that volunteers have set up 9 locations around the city and one in East Providence in a month-long effort to collect coats and jackets for the Nov. 28 coat exchange at the Visitors Center.
Plitt said the Neighborhood Alliance has taken part in the coat drive for the past few years, and typically collects so many that they have leftovers to donate to the Providence effort and other organizations. “We generally have some very generous neighbors, “ Plitt said, noting that some 500 coats have been collected already. He added that a dozen collection bins are also set up at Brown University, where the Brown Lacrosse team and Computer Laboratories have been spearheading the effort.
Plitt said that collection bins are set up at the following locations: Pawtucket City Hall (Mayor’s Office), Bristol County Savings Bank, East Side Eden, Home and Hospice Care, St. Paul’s Church, Oak Hill Rehabilitation Center, the Pawtucket Library, and Slater Park office, and Chestnut Terrace at 100 Wampanoag Trail in East Providence.
According to a press release from Greg Gerritt, Buy Nothing Day originated in Vancouver, Canada and has turned into something of a global phenomenon. He said that thousands of activists and concerned citizens in 65 countries take part in what is described as a “24-hour consumer detox.” In Rhode Island, there are over 60 co-sponsors of the event, including community organizations, places of worship, civic, environmental and peace groups..
Proponents say that the reasons for participating in Buy Nothing Day are as varied as the people who choose to participate. Some see it as an escape from the “marketing mind games” and “frantic consumer binge that has come to characterize the holiday season, and modern culture in general. Others use it to expose the environmental and ethical consequences of over-consumption, according to the press release.
According to Gerritt, with the state’s current unemployment rate and the overall economy, winter coats are going to be even more needed by those in the community who have little. The main coat exchange event takes place in Providence on Nov. 28, which turns into “a big street fair,” said Gerritt. However, for those who cannot make it on that day, coats can also be dropped off in Pawtucket throughout he month of November.
Gerritt also said that volunteers are needed at all five sites. To volunteer in Pawtucket, call Arthur Plitt at 724-8915 and in Woonsocket, call Roger Bonin at 728-8328.