Redmond firefighters participate in Operation Warm, provide coats for kids at Einstein | SLIDESHOW

Published 3:48 pm Tuesday, November 25, 2014

With the holiday season here and winter fast approaching, one of the things people can do to beat the cold is put on a thick winter coat.

But not everyone can get a hold of one in a time of need. To address this issue, the Redmond Firefighters Benevolent Fund and International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2829 — the union for the Redmond Fire Department (RFD) — teamed up to provide coats for students at Albert Einstein Elementary School in Redmond.

Using money from the benevolent fund — which benefits people in the local community, especially those facing personal tragedy — the firefighters purchased enough coats to keep more than 60 Einstein students warm. In addition, principal Karen Belshaw said extra coats were even purchased for some of the students’ older and younger siblings who are not at Einstein.

“I have not seen a coat drive like this,” she said about the scale of it.

Belshaw said in addition to the drive, the school receives support from both the RFD and Redmond Police Department as a number of firefighters and officers will visit the school as lunch buddies and sit and eat with the students.

“We have a fabulous relationship with them,” she said.

DONATING MORE THAN JUST COATS

The drive was part of Operation Warm, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide warm winter clothing for children who need it. According to the organization’s website, “families struggling to survive prioritize food, heat, and rent above winter clothing resulting in frequent absenteeism from school.” The website continues, stating that this leads to forgone learning and missed opportunities for socialization, play and balanced nutrition provided through the Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program.

Dawn DeLoach, secretary of the benevolent fund, said they ended up participating in Operation Warm after firefighter Mike Navarro learned about the organization and thought it was something they could do to benefit the community.

She said they spent about $3,500 from the benevolent fund to purchase the coats, which were distributed last Friday.

About 20 firefighters from RFD — most of whom had volunteered their time on their day off — went to Einstein that morning to help the students pick up their coats.

“They put in their time,” said Redmond Fire Chief Tommy Smith.

He said this was the first time they had participated in Operation Warm, but RFD employees have given back to the community in other ways such as donating turkeys to the homeless and holding pancake breakfasts to raise money for the benevolent fund.

“This is awesome,” Smith said about the coat drive.

EXCITED FOR WINTER

DeLoach agreed, saying the best part of the event was seeing how happy the kids were.

“It was great because you get to see them smiling,” DeLoach said about distributing the coats.

And there were a lot of smiles in the Einstein commons as the youngsters filed in to pick out their coats.

“It was kind of cool,” said third-grader Anthony Anaziz.

The 8-year-old said he is excited about receiving his coat and wearing it in the cold weather. Anthony said he considered a green coat, but ended up going for gray and orange — his favorite colors.

While some students like Anthony entered the room and knew, more or less, which color coat they wanted, others deliberated on their color choices. And when it came to the students who were undecided on color, the firefighters in attendance were more than willing to offer their opinions. A few — including Chief Smith — could be overheard telling students to pick a certain colored coat based on their favorite sports teams. And not everyone was a Seahawks fan, so there was also some good-natured ribbing among the firefighters and students alike.

The students had been fitted for the coats earlier in October so the firefighters would know how many of each size to order.

“It was awesome when they came to fit the coats,” Belshaw said about how excited everyone was during the process.

Despite that excitement, she said there was some hesitation among students who didn’t realize they were only being fitted for size and the coats they were trying on weren’t going to be theirs to keep at that moment. That hesitation came from the students not liking the color of the sizing coats, Belshaw said with a laugh.

Because the students weren’t able to take the coats home during the sizing session, some had not realized that they would be able to take their coats home on Friday.

“I wish we could take them home today,” one student said after he tried on the coat of his choice. When he was told they would be able to take their coats home that afternoon, he became excited: “Oh yay!”

SUPPORTING THE STUDENTS

Belshaw said Operation Warm is just one event they have at Einstein to support families in need. Another event they held this year was Operation School Bell, which gave students an opportunity to go on a back-to-school shopping spree before the school year began. Belshaw said they worked to pick students and families for Operation Warm who did not participate in the earlier event, that way more could benefit.

Together the two events have supported about 225 families, Belshaw told the Reporter. In addition, Einstein has a Pantry Packs program that provides students with food over the weekend, bringing the total to about 275 families supported by various services.