Ten-year old Alvin resident collects 600 coats for less fortunate

At ten years old, Alvin resident, Jace Dungan, is reaching out to Lighthouse Christian Ministries (LCM) for assistance in distributing more than 600 winter coats to our neighbors in need.  

Last Christmas, Jace and his grandfather, Mark Higdon, were driving through an underpass when Jace noticed a homeless family beneath the bridge.  Asking who they were and why they were there, Higdon explained that not everyone is as fortunate as they.  He told Jace that sometimes people just have some bad luck and needed a little help. 

One thing Jace noticed right away was they weren’t wearing any coats on that cold November day, and that’s when he went into action.  With help from his family, Jace began collecting coats.  Using social media and through word of mouth, Jace collected 235 coats that he donated to Lighthouse Christian Ministries to distribute free. Jace didn’t stop there, however.  He vowed to double that number of coats for this Christmas.  He recently made good on his promise by delivering a portion of the more than 600 coats he has collected.

“This is a wonderful problem to have this time of year,” said Tammy Eckart, Operations Director for Lighthouse Christian Ministries.  “Fortunately, we’ve had a fairly mild winter so forth, but we will get these coats into the hands of people who need them most.”

Twice monthly, LCM holds a mobile food distribution fairs at Spillway Park in San Leon and at K.E. Little Elementary School in Bacliff.  The plan is to distribute some of the coats during the food fairs as well as through other nonprofit agencies. 

This isn’t the first act of philanthropy for Jace and his grandad, whom he calls “Pops”.  At Christmas, Jace writes Christmas cards to soldiers serving overseas who can’t be home for Christmas.

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