Every year educators in Clark County see the same depressing sight: Kids showing up to school in frigid winter temperatures with no coats. It’s not that they’re choosing to avoid wearing a coat…in many cases… they simply don’t have one.
Union Firefighters with Clark County Fire District 6 and Vancouver Fire are trying to help children with Operation Warm. It’s a program started by the International Firefighters of America in 2012. Locally the coat drive is piloted by IAFF local 452.
The program is simple. The union raises money throughout the year and purchases all sizes, shapes and colors of American-made coats. They then give coats to kids who’ve been identified by area schools as someone who could desperately use a new coat.
Tuesday, October 1st firefighters will meet at Hazel Dell Elementary School (511 NE Anderson Street, Vancouver, WA) at 9 a.m. They’ll hand out coats until 9:45 a.m.
“We recognize how difficult it must be to try to learn when you don’t have the basics to even stay warm,” says Local 452 member and Project Coordinator, Ashley Mitchum. “It’s very rewarding for us to see the smile on a little kids face when they realize that the coat is theirs to keep”, she says. The gift of a brand-new coat provides not only warmth to children, but also helps to improve self-confidence, peer acceptance, school attendance and outdoor play.
Since the program began in 2012, firefighters across the nation have distributed over 200,000 coats in more than 300 cities.
Media is invited to document the distribution of coats to students at Hazel Dell Elementary, one of the Fire District 6 schools with the greatest need. Operation Warm will be at the school on Tuesday, October 1st, from 9-10 a.m. The school is located at 511 NE Anderson Street, Vancouver, WA.
Questions? Contact Clark County Fire District 6 PIO, Dave Schmitke: (360) 576-1195