MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Over 275 Monongalia County children from low-income families will receive brand new winter coats this fall, courtesy of Morgantown Firefighters IAFF Local 313.
This is the fourth consecutive year Morgantown Firefighters IAFF Local 313 has partnered with Operation Warm, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing warmth, confidence and hope for children in need through the gift of brand new winter coats. The collaborative, community-based program has impact far beyond the Monongalia County area. Operation Warm programs across the USA and Canada are bringing, this initiative to the communities in which they work and live.
This year, Morgantown Firefighters IAFF 313 will provide Operation Warm coasts to children at Eastwood, Mason-Dixon, Mountainview, North, Ridgedale, and Suncrest Elementary Schools.
“With our poverty levels reaching 40 percent, our children and schools benefit from this program in more ways than one,” Local 313 President Jayson Nicewarner said. “By nature of our service to the community, we’re able to see the harsh effects poverty has on these children first hand.”
Morgantown firefighters will arrive at Eastwood, Mason-Dixon, Mountainview, North, Ridgedale and Suncrest Primary Elementary Schools, personally fitting each child with a new coat and helping them to write their name in the interior tag, which reads, “Made Just for You.”
With monetary support from the Morgantown community and a large donation from Teletech, the firefighters are able to give the gift of warmth to these children right before the winter holidays.