"Warm Hearts, Cold Winter - Helping Mendocino's Kids"

Shannon Hughes: A Lifelong Crusader for Warmth

Shannon Hughes, a former owner of the Pangaea and Lorca restaurants in Point Arena, has been on a mission for 15 years. She started an initiative called "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" single-handedly, collecting thousands of pounds of warm clothing, bedding, home goods, toiletries, and camp gear. Her Prius was often filled to the brim with these essential items as she made multiple trips around the county, delivering the bounty to shelters from Fort Bragg to Willits from November to February. People's generosity knows no bounds, and Hughes has been a driving force in providing warmth to those in need.

Her efforts have grown over the years, reaching a point where she needed a larger vehicle to accommodate all the donations. But her spirit remains unwavering, and she continues to give people the means to help in a very concrete way.

Margaret Fox: A New Partner in Helping Hands

Margaret Fox, former owner of Café Beaujolais in Mendocino and president of the Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund, has been dedicated to helping local children for 30 years. When federal funding for providing warm clothes to homeless children came to an end, she was determined to find a way to fill the gap. A mutual friend introduced her to Hughes' years of work, and the two chefs, with decades of professional acquaintance, saw a natural solution in working together this year.

Fox is acutely aware of the contradiction between the affluent image of the area and the reality faced by many on the coast. She believes that "lots of kids are really hurting bad," even as they attend local schools with peers in better situations. Together with Hughes, they are collecting jackets, coats, warm clothing of all sizes, bedding, sheets, blankets, towels, and toiletries to be distributed to schools in Mendocino and Fort Bragg school districts.

Donations can be dropped off at the Greenwood Community Center in Elk (look for totes under the awning at the Annex building at the rear of the building), Tangents in Mendocino, and Ananse Village in Fort Bragg. For those unable to make a drop-off, pick-up can be arranged by messaging the Baby It’s Cold Outside Facebook page.

For more information about or to make a donation to the Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund, visit https://www.mccf.info.

The Mendocino Voice extends its gratitude to our sponsors for making this work possible.