WE LOVE THIS........
COATS, jumpers, gloves and scarves have been appearing on railings and trees around Belfast city centre, accompanied by a simple message: `If You Need One Take One'.
Three friends, moved by a social media campaign to help the homeless in Dublin, simultaneously decided to bring the simple but powerful initiative north.
Known as #warmforwinter, it has been a global phenomenon for a few years - members of the public, mostly in large cities and towns, leaving out unwanted coats for homeless people during the harsh winter months.
Paddy Fryers from Clones, Co Monaghan, who started this year's Dublin efforts, said there had been a generous response from Fermanagh people.
Marney Magee, from Newtownabbey, and her friend Luighseach McCann were talking about the Dublin movement on Facebook when they decided to try to do the same closer to home.
"We said, let's just do this, get it started," Ms Magee said.
"Last Friday we asked for donations of coats and by Sunday our cars were full of coats and long jumpers. Initially it was just family we asked through Facebook, but it kept growing.
"We approached a couple of councillors to see would we be allowed and they said to just go for it."
This week they are on church railings in Chapel Lane and trees in the square opposite.
Unbeknownst to them, a friend, John Mullholland had had the same idea and on the same day hung the coats he had collected across town in the area around the Albert Clock.
Because of the driving December rain, the friends have been using bin bags to keep the coats dry.
"One old man told us `You don't know the difference this makes to me'. They are so, so lovely and so grateful."
Source: Irish News
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