Love’s foundation, Better Days Mentoring partner on coat drive

GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love’s foundation, Hands of 10ve, and Better Days Mentoring partnered on the mentoring program’s fifth annual coat drive, held Nov. 12.

Better Days Mentoring  Owner Eddie Boyce said this year the two organizations bought 1,100 coats — 400 more than last year.

By late morning, just 150 coats remained. 

"You probably had close to 90 cars parked up and down (the street) and then you have close to 150 people that were just lined up," Boyce said of the turnout, even before Love and backup quarterback Malik Willis were both onsite to help hand out coats.

“Not everybody has a car, so you had people standing out here with children who have never had a coat,” Boyce added.

Better Days Mentoring offers one-on-one individualized mentoring and other services to help individuals reach their full potential.

The organization has worked throughout Brown County for about a decade.

“Wherever the need is at, we are usually there for it,” Boyce said.

“Periodically, we would talk, even throughout the season now, about the needs,” Boyce explained. “Like, ‘hey, what are you seeing?’ He’s like ‘I just want to give back.’ I was like, ‘We’ll host a coat drive, because the community will come.’

“It’s grown a lot bigger, especially with his help to reach more people.”

The coat drive fits right in Love’s foundation’s mission “to inspire and empower children from all backgrounds to engage in sports, promoting physical and mental well-being”

“I think it's always been important to me, my family, kind of the way I was raised — to try and help give back,” Love said. “I think my parents were very giving people, always trying to help out, especially in the community. So, I think it's always kind of been there, been how I was raised. It’s one of those things where I have the opportunity. I've met the right people and the opportunity is there to give back.”

Boyce said that with the need increasing, adjustments will be made to match the need.

“Next year, we’ll be back at it. I think we’ve got a gauge— I think we are going to need a lot more,” Boyce added.