The Okotoks United Church Jacket Racket program is back for another season.

Carol Price, Jacket Racket Coordinator, says thanks to the generosity of other residents, people are able to take what they need to stay warm over the winter.

"The community donates gently used winter items, snow pants, jackets, toques, mitts, whatever they have, and then we have people going around and collecting them. So that's phase one, the donation and collection, then phase two we set up seven events at the church and people can come and help themselves." Price says another option is residents can do a clothing exchange. They can bring in an item they no longer wear or that doesn't fit and exchange it for something else.

Last year, the program played a role in helping many Foothills residents. "We estimate that 250 people came, but didn't all actually come some people got for several people which you can do, but probably about 250 people we estimate received items for winter."

Donation bins at the Okotoks Rec Centre, Sobeys, the Okotoks Public Library, Foothills Cleaners, and the Okotoks United Church are emptied once a week until Oct. 21.

Residents are able to check out the Jacket Racket at the Okotoks United Church on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday evenings from the end of October to mid November.