KANSAS CITY, Mo. — City Market is one of the most popular places to shop in Kansas City during the holidays. There's also a huge charitable community that gives back.
Heavy coats may not have been needed with Sunday's warm winter weather, but River Market Flea's founder knows the sun won't stay out for long.
"The Midwest is harsh, there's no doubt about that," Alberto Martinez said. "You need a heavy coat when you live out here in the Midwest because the weather gets pretty brutal."
The expected cold weather is why Martinez hosted the River Market Flea's first coat drive amid the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers.
"We are in the market of clothes, so it just made sense," Martinez said.
His vintage consignment shop, River Market Flea, garnered dozens of donations throughout the day.
"With all the excess amount of clothes that us thrifters get, we have a lot of what people call 'death piles' and stuff that doesn't sell," Martinez said. "We reached out to a lot of our vendors to donate some of their clothes, so this [coat drive] was something that really just fit like a glove for us."
The coats will go to Kansas City charity reStart. The organization helps people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet.
Sue Patterson, City Market's director of marketing and communications, explained foot traffic is up 15% from last year with nearly 25,000 people visiting on Saturday and Sunday.
"We love to connect all these organizations together and bring people together, that's what a public market does," Patterson said. "It's amazing what people donate so I'm very thankful to the Kansas City community for supporting us."
Martinez saw firsthand how the City Market community responds to efforts to give back. He plans to keep that momentum going with more clothes drives in the new year.
"It really is amazing to see that people come in all the way from their houses with tubs full of clothes just for this and take the initiative out of their day to donate," Martinez said. "It really does resonate in our hearts a lot, so we definitely see ourselves doing more."
The City Market Merry Market will return on Saturday, Dec. 21, and Sunday, Dec. 22, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. for the final week of holiday shopping.
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