Coats for Kids helps keep children warm
By From staff reports
Published in News on December 9, 2015 1:46 PM
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University of Mount Olive Collegiate FFA help children try on coats at Carver Elementary School Dec. 9. This is the eighth year the CFFA at UMO sponsored the Coats for Kid program, providing winter clothing to students in need at Carver and Brogden Primary.
More than 375 students at Carver Elementary and Brogden Primary School received coats, hats and gloves from the Collegiate FFA at the University of Mount Olive.
The Collegiate FFA has sponsored the Coats for Kids program for the past eight years with the UMO students working throughout the entire year raising money to buy the clothing for the students that are in need.
"The need for coats has increased dramatically from last year with almost 100 more coats needed," stated CFFA president Preston Brown, a junior agriculture education major from Zebulon.
"We have been reaching out to businesses and individuals within the community to help us meet the growing need for winter clothing. Although we have not reached our needed goal of nearly $8,000, we are getting close and hope to be able to fulfill the needs of the children in our community."
Freshman Rachael Schauer, an ag production systems major from Waxhaw. said, "The Coats for Kids project is an ongoing CFFA tradition and serves so many children in our Mount Olive community at the time of year when giving should be our focus. I look forward to seeing the excited faces when we give out the coats, hats, and gloves."
The Collegiate FFA works with Operation Warm to acquire the number of coats needed. Operation Warm is an organization that provides winter clothing for needy families at a extremely discounted rate.
"This is a great project. In addition to meeting the need for warm coats, we were able to contact Santa in time for him to come and visit with the children as well. These kids are all smiles when they start off their day with new coats and a visit from Santa," said Sarah Harkey, a junior ag education major from Mount Pleasant.
"This is my third year working with Coats for Kids and it continually amazes me as to how the community really steps up to meet the need for this project. We have also been fortunate to have received a mini-grant from the CHS Foundation which supports building and strengthening rural communities which has been a big help as well. This project really makes you appreciate what we take for granted and gives us a chance to see the impact we are making on these children's lives," stated Ryan Berglund, a junior ag education major from Raleigh.
Though the students have already distributed the winter clothing, donations to Coats for Kids is an ongoing effort and are still being accepted.