Savannah Francis, 3, and her brother Austin Francis, 1, both of Sequim, sit on a pile of coats, hats, scarves and gloves collected to donate to the Salvation Army. Photo courtesy of Leslee Francis

Sequim girl starts donation effort

Gazette staff

After getting a new coat from her grandparents, 3-year-old Savannah Francis made her mother cry.

Savannah got her old pink coat and told her mom she wanted to give it to someone who didn’t have a coat, her mother Leslee Francis said.

“She’s a pretty giving child as far as sharing but it was the first time she really put together that some people are cold and she wanted to give them her coat,” Francis said, adding the gesture moved her to tears.

Francis sent out an e-mail to friends at the Peninsula Mom’s group, Sequim Pre-3, Music Together Sequim and Eastern Hills Community Church to see if others wanted to donate items as well.

In one week Savannah had nearly 100 coats, scarves, gloves and hats to donate to the Salvation Army in Port Angeles, Francis said.

The items were dropped off Friday at the Salvation Army and Savannah noticed people without coats standing in line for food.

“Savannah asked me, ‘Mom, are they cold?’” Francis said. “And I said, ‘They won’t be cold anymore, they’ll have a coat.’”