LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On the day after Thanksgiving, Lakesha Jones brought her two granddaughters to the West End Token Club , one of the eight pickup sites as part of Louisville’s Free Coat Exchange initiative.

“I’m a grandmother, so I receive them in the absence of my son and their mom," Jones said. "Stuff like this really helps out."

Louisville’s Free Coat Exchange has collected and distributed coats across the city for 15 years. But Vanessa Graves, founder of the nonprofit Hanna’s House of Hope and event organizer, said a partnership with Louisville’s West End started only a few years ago.

Graves said she and other groups worked to bring it to west Louisville after seeing a growing need and lack of resources in her community.

“We found a mutual ground that we could all serve t

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