The Tom Goodrich Warm Hearts Memorial Project
The Tom Goodrich Warm Hearts Memorial Project
Sharing Love, Gratitude, and Giving - One Warm Heart at a Time
Our Vision:
The Tom Goodrich Warm Hearts Memorial Project was officially established in July 2011. It was created to spread a spirit of love, gratitude, and giving in honor of a beloved husband, father, grandpa, and friend, Tom Goodrich.
Our vision is to provide new winter coats for as many school aged children as possible. Funding for this project is donated by individuals who share in our dream of keeping the hearts and bodies of children warm through the snowy winter months.
Our Mission: How Does the Project Work?
We love giving warm coats to any kid who would love to wear one! We are currently able to gather coat requests from several different organizations throughout Vernal, UT, Grand Junction, CO, and Montrose, CO. How it all works: We request that teachers/family advocates who know of a student in their class/school that would benefit from a new winter coat, simply submit the student's gender (to guide our color and print selection) and approximate coat size. We are usually able to get the coats into the teachers hands within a couple of days. We will expand to serve as many additional schools as our funding allows.
Our Hero and Inspiration: Tom Goodrich
Tom Goodrich, was born in Vernal, Utah on May 21, 1948 to Dallas and Norma Merkley Goodrich, the oldest of five children. He grew up in Piceance Creek, Colorado attending school in Rifle and Meeker. He graduated from Meeker High School in 1966. Upon graduation, he volunteered for the draft and spent a year in Vietnam. Tom was very patriotic and proud of his military service. He was married to Rhonda Goodrich for thirty years.
They have four children and eight grandchildren who were the joy of his life.
Tom began his career in construction while serving in Vietnam. He owned and operated Goodrich Construction upon moving back to Vernal in 1975. He specialized in commercial and industrial construction and built the occasional custom home. Tom loved building and was a self-professed workaholic. It was Tom's experience in construction that helped him value a warm coat; as he spent many winters braving the elements that come with wintertime in Western Colorado and Northeastern Utah. Tom could be heard saying on several occasions that no one should ever have to be cold.
It was from this thought, that we were inspired to begin making a difference. Before the official launch of The Tom Goodrich Warm Hearts Memorial Project in July 2011, Tom had helped provide winter coats to countless children in these areas using the same process we are continuing to use today; only this time with a Tom Goodrich Warm Hearts Memorial Project tag attached to each coat instead of being anonymous. Tom began his giving with school aged children because two of his daughters are elementary school teachers. They saw a need for providing coats for many of their students. They were able to directly see the positive impact created by his generosity. While our lives will never be the same following his passing in May 2011, we hope our own hearts, along with many others, will be filled with warmth as we continue giving in his honor.
Project Updates:
October 2020: 2020 continues to be a year of unprecedented firsts. The Warm Hearts Project is no exception to these firsts. We've had our earliest coat requests ever- starting at the end of August. The unseasonal cold front that came through Colorado in early September kicked off our season of giving earlier than usual. We've also had many more early coat request than is typical for this time of year. To date (Oct 1, 2020) we have delivered 11 coats. That brings our unofficial coat count to 267. We are grateful to continue helping our youngest community members with the gift of a warm, new coat. We anticipate the need in our communities to be the greatest ever this winter. To help us meet this demand, we have started a Go Fund Me account https://www.gofundme.com/f/warming-hearts-and-bodies. We couldn't do what we do without the support of our family, friends and generous community. Thank you to all of those who believe in this project. As 2020 had certainly challenged us all we hope it will be true that we not only rose up to meet those challenges, but met them with unprecedented generosity and compassion.
February 2020: As we come to an end of our 2019-2020 winter giving season our unofficial coat donation count is 256 with 52 being donated this winter alone! We're grateful for all of those who support our mission and the advocates in our communities who submit the coat request on behalf of the kids in our communities.
November 2019: We continue to be grateful for the support through donations from the family and friends of Tom. With unseasonably colder tempetures this fall, our season of giving is already up and going! To date, we have already donated 32 coats for the 2019-2020 season! We are able to provide new coats for children from newborn-elementary ages. Over 232 coats have been donated through The Tom Goodrich Warm Hearts Project since it's beginning in 2011! Thank you to all who advocate on behalf of our youngest community members and make this possible.
February 2019: 26 coats were donated over the 2018-2019 winter season!
March 2018: This winter's coat donation was 21 coats total!
March 2017: Our donation total for the 2016-2017 winter was 16 coats!
March 2016: We've hit our biggest year yet! 63 coats were donated over the 2015-2016 winter!
November 2016:
We are officially kicking off the 2016-2017 winter coat giving season! We are hoping to continue to provide more and more coats to our elementary and preschool learners this winter. We are now eagerly accepting coat requests for the 2016-2017 winter season! Please email us under the "contact" page if you would like more information about requesting a coat or would like to submit a coat request.
March 2016:
With the help of local teachers and school staff members, we were able to provide 55 coats to preschool-high school kids this past winter season! We feel blessed to be able to make this warm and needed gift to the most deserving of people- kids! Thank you to everyone who requested coats for your learners. We could not give without your help!
November 2015:
After a warm and beautiful fall, the temperatures are quickly beginning to plummet here in Eastern Utah and Western Colorado! The dropping temperatures are officially kicking off our coat buying for 2015-2016 winter. We will be able to provide warm coats for at least seven different elementary schools this winter (and hopefully more!). We are now eagerly accepting coat requests for the 2015-2016 winter season! Please email us under the "contact" page if you would like more information about requesting a coat or would like to submit a coat request.
May 2015: We are so happy to report that for the winter of 2014-2015 we were able to provide a new coat for 53 kids! We feel very blessed to be able to give back to our communities and look forward to another season of giving for the 2015-2016 winter!
May 2014: Our unofficial coat donation total for the 2013-2014 season is 22 coats!
Photos of some of the coats previously donated over the years.
Photos of some of the coats donated over previous years.
Photos of some of the coats previously donated over the years.