Operation Warm: City fire department provides coats for students
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Washington Park Elementary School principal Darren Vaccaro helps a student try on a coat at a recent winter coat distribution spearheaded by city of Washington Fire Department.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Students at Washington Park Elementary School received new coats in time for winter weather.
More than 270 students in kindergarten through second grade at Washington Park Elementary School received winter coats through Operation Warm, coordinated by city of Washington Fire Department.
Washington Park Elementary School students are gearing up for winter.
The city of Washington Fire Department is helping to make sure students stay warm as the weather turns colder by providing 273 new winter coats for students in kindergarten through second grade at a recent event.
In the school gymnasium, WPES administrators and teachers opened boxes, pulled out jackets, and helped students find a bright, puffy coat that fit.
The coats were provided through Operation Warm, a national nonprofit organization that manufactures coats for children in need.
Firefighter Dan Grossman, who coordinated the coat drive, said the Washington Fire Department Local 2218 of the International Association of Fire Fighters has partnered with Operation Warm for nearly a decade to provide coats for WPES students.
“There’s a level of satisfaction that comes with being directly involved in the community. A lot of us live in the city, and we personally know a lot of the kids who go to schools here,” said Grossman. “We’re involved in the care and welfare of hundreds of kids each year, and that’s satisfying.”
WPES principal Darren Vaccaro is grateful for the firefighters’ efforts, especially as the temperatures drop.
“The coat program is wonderful. The students really appreciate the coats, and we appreciate how the firefighters are thinking about the kids,” said Vaccaro. “We feel better knowing the kids standing at the bus stop in really cold weather have coats to keep them warm.”
Pitching in to help provide funding for the coats this year were Netflix, which films its series, “The Chair,” in the city of Washington, and an anonymous donor.
“We punch above our weight with this program because it’s expensive compared to the size of our local – it’s a question year-to-year if we can support it, but we have community partners who help fund this,” said Grossman.
Vaccaro thanked the fire department for its commitment to the program and to the elementary students.
He said the children are proud of their new coats, and noted that some children end up later passing their coats on to siblings.
“This will really help the kids get through these next few cold winter months,” said Vaccaro.