Wash. Paramedics, Firefighters Donate New Coats to Elementary School
Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.
Dec. 01—BOW—Eighty students from Allen Elementary School went home Thursday warmer than when when they arrived, thanks to Operation Warm.
"It's my favorite thing we do," said paramedic Rebecca Dane with the Skagit County Professional Paramedic Association, which organized the event. "It's fun to see their faces."
One by one, firefighters from the Burlington, Anacortes and Mount Vernon fire departments went into classrooms and escorted students out to pick out new winter coats.
The coats came in a variety of colors, including Araceli Santos-Ramirez's favorite color, pink.
"I love pink," the kindergartner said.
Skagit County firefighters and paramedics have held Operation Warm for four years, Dane said.
This year, Allen Elementary was one of the first stops.
"We're just getting fired up," she said. "We give as many coats as the schools need."
Every kindergartner and some first-, second- and third-graders received new coats, said Shelee King George, the school's consultant teacher who helped organize the event on the school's end.
"(I like) watching every kid beam as they put their new coat on and walk down the hall with their backs straight up," she said.
Last year, Dane said Operation Warm delivered 150 to 200 American-made coats to Skagit County elementary school students.
"They love it," said kindergarten teacher Shannon Frank. "It makes it more special that the firefighters are delivering it to them."
Five-year-old Serenity Erstad-Anders gave Burlington firefighter Brad Judy a hug after Judy helped her pick out her teal jacket, which perfectly matched the rest of her outfit and was "cooler" than the jacket she came to school in.
When she grows up, Serenity said she wants to be a firefighter and a police officer.
"And maybe a veterinarian, because I like animals," Serenity said.
The fact that students get to interact with firefighters and paramedics is one of the things George said she likes about the event.
"It's a wonderful learning partnership with our community," she said. "It's an opportunity to see first responders, and in a good light."
After students picked out their jackets, each classroom got to walk through a truck from either the Burlington or Mount Vernon fire department and have their picture taken with the trucks and the firefighters.
For Burlington firefighter Tom Bertsch, the opportunity reminds him of his childhood, when his family had to rely on the help of others for things such as coats.
"It's my chance to kick that back now," Bertsch said.
