1,500 Warm Coats from Chet, a Caring Citizen

By Nick Gallo | Broadcast Reporter and Digital Editor | okcthunder.com

From its first days in Oklahoma City, the Thunder has wanted to reflect Oklahoma’s values of hard work, commitment, and care for community. 

That meant identifying people who already hold those same values and putting them in positions to show Oklahomans what they’re made of. That includes people like Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren, who knew Oklahoma City would be a great fit for him before he was even drafted by the Thunder back in June. 

Holmgren has already been extremely active in the Oklahoma City community even while undergoing a substantial, season-long rehab process from a foot injury. At court dedications and Reading Timeouts, as well as the Thanksgiving dinner he hosted for Oklahoma City youth, Holmgren has been engaged and intentional with every interaction. This week he stepped it up even further by hosting events that facilitated his donation of 1,500 coats across the three cities he’s called home, with the help of Operation Warm.

The first stop, on Thursday, was in partnership with the Thunder’s 15^th Annual Holiday Assist program at Citizens Caring for Children. Exactly 24 hours later, Holmgren got off the Thunder’s flight to his hometown of Minneapolis and straight into a van headed for a Salvation Army service center in nearby Brooklyn Park, Minn. that suffered arson and vandalism four weeks ago. On Tuesday, in Spokane, Wash., where Holmgren attended college at Gonzaga University, there will be another giveaway with coats supplied by the 20-year-old as well. 

In Oklahoma City on Thursday, tiny feet shuffled up and down aisles as Holmgren followed behind attentively. At Citizens Caring for Children, Holmgren helped kids in the foster care system pick out coats that were just the right size and made sure each kid left with a Thunder beanie, wristband and Rumble doll. 

“How’s it going down there?” Holmgren quipped happily to some kindergarten-aged tots. 

“You look like you’re going to grow a lot this year, so that’ll give you wiggle room,” he said to another child as they tried on a coat. 

Each season, foster children can come to Citizens Caring for Children’s resource center off of Wilshire Boulevard and get two brand new outfits apiece, including coats, to ensure they are not only feeling confident and presentable each day, but are nice and warm in the winter months too. Holmgren’s donation of 500 coats covered Citizens Caring for Children’s need for this season and gave the organization a head start on next year’s supply as well. 

“With foster families, they’re already giving so much extra support,” said Denice Hurlbut, Director of Operations at Citizens Caring for Children. “We want to be able to step in and help support them also. All of these coats are going out to kids who are in the foster system to make sure that they’re able to have that good extra sense of stability and comfort.”

“It takes a group of people to do this for these children that are unfortunately taken out of their homes,” said Kenneth Gregory, a foster father of four young children who all got coats on Thursday. “It’s just something to give them some normal normalcy and helps them feel loved and part of the community.” 

Chris Serafino, a foster mother who exclusively takes in teenage boys because of the great need in that demographic, leans on Citizens Caring for Children in Oklahoma City to help clothe her three foster sons. Tyler and Charlie, who are 17, and James, who is 18 and will be aging out of foster care when he graduates high school, were all thrilled to see the 20-year-old Holmgren showing leadership and generosity at such a young age. 

“My sons were so excited to hear that they were going to come meet a Thunder basketball player,” said Serafino. “There’s not very many homes for male teenagers. I get called every couple days for a male teenager. We just need to do better as a community to help these kids.” 

“Seeing somebody of his age investing his time and his effort to do this is very heartwarming,” added Gregory. “We’ll be able to show them – look what people wanted to do for you, even though they didn’t know you and didn’t know your story.” 

Holmgren’s internal drive to give back in this way stems from his childhood in Minnesota, where winter temperatures dip into dangerously frigid territory. Not having a good coat in that weather is simply not an option. It would be one thing to just write a check and send out a press release. It’s another to show up the way Holmgren did in two cities in the span of a day and be a hands-on role model to the next generation of citizens.

“It’s more important to really devote your time to it and really connect with the people that you’re looking to help,” said Holmgren. “It’s something that needs to be done. There’s always going to be people in need and always going to be someone in a position to help, so I think it’s their duty to help.”

Last month, the Salvation Army’s Noble Service Center in Brooklyn Park, Minn. had an intruder who broke in and caused a fire, ruining 170 coats that were set to be given out to families in need this winter. Upon hearing the news, Holmgren immediately jumped into action to re-stock the center’s stash of coats, and on Friday night was able to see eager families brave wind-whipped snow and icy roads to get some much-needed winter gear. 

Holmgren helped a young girl, a toddler named Iris, try on a bright blue coat with furry interior lining. It was a perfect fit, and she got some gloves and a hat to match. Loaded up with her new armor, Iris bounded her way to the boarded-up front door of the Salvation Army and out into the 20-degree weather, protected and warm. 

“These little two-and-a-half-foot tall kids, to see them looking up at him, their eyes are as big as saucers,” said Major Scott Shelbourn, Twin Cities Commander for the Salvation Army. 

Families throughout the 10-county area surrounding the Twin Cities depend on food, clothing, resources and a sense of community from the Salvation Army. The Brooklyn Park location still has plywood over broken windows and carpet that needs to be replaced. The supply line issues and inflation impacting families and the Salvation Army itself can’t be erased in one day, but Holmgren’s donation and presence made a massive impact on the quality of life of the people in his hometown as the temperatures continue to fall in the months to come. 

“Examples like Chet and the way he’s giving back, that’s the kind of thing I’ve always wanted my kids to look up to,” said Shelbourn. “When people have this opportunity and they’re given the world and this great opportunity in their life, but they’re still humble enough to give back to where they came from, that’s a tremendous blessing to me. Those kinds of values were instilled in him, and he’s carrying them on into adulthood.” 

“I’m just trying to do what I would expect from anybody else in my position and try and do the right thing,” Holmgren said. “Hopefully when people see that, they’ll follow. Hopefully 10 years from now the kids that just grabbed some coats from here are doing something like this.”