Operation Warm brings coats to students in need on Giving Tuesday
NEW YORK -- Giving Tuesday is otherwise known as the time many people kick off the holiday season by giving back to their community.
In honor of the special day, hundreds of students at a school on the Lower East Side received brand new coats.
As CBS2's Zinnia Malonado reports, it was all smiles inside the gym at the Franklin D. Roosevelt School.
Parents such as Jin Hunter are grateful for a special surprise this Giving Tuesday: New coats, just in time for the winter season.
"This is a good source, making sure all our kids are warm this winter, seeing how winter has arrived early. It gives the chance for our kids to stay warm," Hunter said.
"This is a Title 1 school, and talking with staff there's a lot of asylum-seekers, kids in transitional housing, who are present. The enrollment numbers grow every day, and sometime kids come to school unprepared," said Brenda Lee of Operation Warm.
There's nearly 400 students enrolled at the school, and every single one of them received a new jacket.
The giveaway was made possible by nonprofit Operation Warm, in partnership with Nordstrom. They're set to distribute 20,000 coats this season to students across the U.S. and Canada.
"We know how important it is, especially in New York - it's cold - to give that emotional warmth, and true physical warmth. There's nothing more important than a coat, it's a basic need," said Chris Wanlass of Nordstrom.
"Giving Tuesday is the global giving day of the year. It's the time that people really pay attention to nonprofits and charities that need help, and right now with inflation and still effects of COVID, people are struggling," Lee said.
Greeted by a DJ and a dancing reindeer, students were able to pick out a coat in their favorite color, whether blue, purple or green.
The kids, in grades K-8, also spent time with WNBA Connecticut Suns player Jasmine Thomas, who says she hopes events like these inspire others to give back this holiday season.
"We have an obligation to make sure everyone feels loved and that we in our fortunate positions give back to help others have a better life and hopefully make the world a better place," Thomas said.
