Operation Warm
While driving around town as students board buses weekday mornings, John Riley notices the impact he and his co-workers make every fall and winter.
For the third year, the City of Washington Fire Department has teamed with Operation Warm to provide new coats, made in the United States, to local students who would otherwise go without.
Operation Warm was founded in 2002 to combat the lack of adequate winter clothing for children living in poverty. To date, the organization has provided new winter coats to more than 1.4 million children in the United States.
This year, Riley, who is president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2218, hopes to raise enough money to purchase 300 coats, most of which will go to students at Washington Park Elementary School.
“In this area, there is such a need,” he said. “For a lot of these kids, this will be the first new coat they’ve ever had.”
Every dollar raised by the fire department will be matched by Operation Warm. Riley hopes to raise $5,000 and distribute the coats by the beginning of November.
“With the cold weather coming, the next two weeks are critical,” Riley said.
Working with Washington Park Elementary principals Kelley Zebrasky and Mary Grace Stutzman, he recently took sizing kits provided by Operation Warm to the school so he could measure students for the perfect fit.
“This initiative has been in place for several years, and as a district, we are delighted to work with this group of people again,” Zebrasky and Stutzman said in a statement.
“It is pleasing to see so many organizations come together for our students, and this spirit of generosity only enhances our district catchphrase, ‘Together we make a difference.'”
To learn more or to make a monetary donation, visit https://donate.operationwarm.org/page/contribute/washington2218.