Cianna Winkler, daughter of Wayne and Beverly Winkler of Verona, is again this year sponsoring a coat drive to benefit the Human Needs Food Pantry in Montclair.
Over the past five years, close to 5,000 coats have been collected to help those in need in our community. With weather projections for this winter to be cold and snowy, these coats are desperately needed locally and Winkler is looking to top last year’s collection.
The Verona Community Center, Verona Jazzercise on Bloomfield Avenue, and the First Presbyterian Church of Verona have generously agreed to be drop-off points for the coat drive again this year.
Please drop off clean, gently used coats, hats, and gloves now through Sunday, December 3. Only drop off coats with working zippers and snaps or buttons and without holes. Boxes are located at each location and will be dropped off weekly at the Human Needs Food Pantry.
Winkler is very involved in community service and has received the Presidential Volunteerism Award at the Gold level every year from 2013 to 2017. She is very active in raising awareness of the homeless and those in need. New Jersey’s homeless population continues to increase and Essex county has the largest homeless population in the state. Many of the homeless are US Veterans. At the same time, many of the homeless are families and children.
Winkler is also active as a 2016 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Student Leader and was recognized by LLS with the 2017 Citizenship Award. Winkler and her family are also co-founders of the Sunday Supper Program for those in need sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Verona and received a 2017 Point of Light Award for volunteerism.
This past August, Winkler was crowned the 2017-18 National United Miss in Atlantic City and was Miss New Jersey High School America 2017. She has also been a Miss America Outstanding Teen for the past three years. Winkler is a senior at Verona High School, where she participates on the girls spring and winter track teams, serves as a Peer Leader and a member of Key Club, and she has been a competitive dancer at For Dancer’s Only. She looks to pursue a degree to work with children and adults with special disabilities upon graduation.
