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Rotary’s Operation Warm distributes winter coats to kids
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Robert Thigpen, 4, picked his coat based on the color.
“Blue is my favorite color,” the Harding Elementary School preschooler said.
Isaiah Patterson, 3, another preschooler, said his coat is warm too.
This marks the fourth year the Youngstown Rotary has participated in Operation Warm, distributing new winter coats to children who need them.
This year, all six Rotary clubs in Mahoning County – Youngstown, Austintown, Boardman, Canfield, Poland and Struthers – participated in the fundraising and coat distribution, with each club choosing how to give out the garments.
Carol Sherman, a member of the steering committee that coordinated the Rotary effort, said this year’s goal was to raise $50,000, but the clubs raised more than $66,000.
Of that, about $18,000 came in grants from several organizations: Denise DeBartolo York, the Centofanti Family, Thomases Family Trust, Diyorio Family, Shermer Trust and Richard and Susan Sokolov.
The money was used to buy 4,038 coats in sizes 3T to adult 2XL.
The Austintown and Boardman clubs are donating 1,000 coats to the Salvation Army, Poland is contributing its coats to the Interfaith Food Pantry in Poland; Struthers Rotary will distribute them at that community’s elementary schools; and Canfield is working with Operation Blessing and the Canfield Police and the Cardinal Joint Fire District.
The Youngstown Rotary has adopted Harding and works with the school to provide several programs.
Club members also distributed coats to William Holmes McGuffey and Williamson elementary schools and the Boys and Girls Club of Youngstown. Knights of Columbus, working with the Rotary, distributed coats to students at St. Joseph the Provider School.
About 40 employees from Fact Set Research Systems, located in the Youngstown Business Incubator, volunteered in the coat distribution.
Manager John Slanina is a Youngstown Rotary member.
“We’re happy to be here,” he said.
“We are a Youngstown company.”
They’re happy to help, Slanina said.
It’s one of several community-service projects in which the company participates, he said.
Harding third-grader Jaylinne Flores, 9, was first attracted to the color of her new coat.
Pink “is my favorite color,” she said.
It’s comfortable, too.
Jaylinne plans to wear her new coat everywhere, she said.