Columbus City Schools elementary students receive winter jackets in time for cold weather

It was a chilly morning — with temperatures hovering a little above freezing — as cardboard boxes stacked with child-sized winter jackets were scattered around the yellow and black gymnasium at Columbus City Burroughs Elementary School in the Hilltop.

The coats, overflowing over boxes and tables, ranged in color from sky blue and pastel pink to dark green and orange.

Aided by teachers and volunteers, students — some about to head outside to recess — had been rummaging through the boxes Wednesday morning trying to find a winter jacket that was just their size.

And the best part is that it was all free.

"It's almost like Christmas here this morning," Burroughs Elementary principal Michael Eichers said. "The students are thrilled, and you can just see it on all their faces how excited they are."

The winter coat distribution was a result of a partnership between Columbus City Schools and United Way of Central Ohio, a nonprofit that purchased 2,300 new winter jackets for all students at six elementary schools throughout the state's largest school district.

The jackets were distributed in six city schools ranging from the Hilltop and South Franklinton to the Mount Vernon area.

The schools served Wednesday were Burroughs, Sullivant, Trevitt and West Mound elementary schools. Students at Beatty Park Elementary School and Starling PreK-8 were scheduled to receive them on Thursday.

Coats serving schools of 'greatest need'

Tina Starner, United Way's Success by Third Grade administrative coordinator who was volunteering at Burroughs, said the nonprofit's CEO, Lisa Courtice, met with district officials and principals from the around the district and learned that one of the biggest barriers for students were coats and shoes.

"Lisa Courtice reached out to a funder that we have that supports United Way and just did an ask of, 'Is there some way you can help us fund supplying coats to the schools?" Starner said. "So that's literally how it happened, it was a donation of $150,000 from the Siemer (Family) Foundation."

The six schools were chosen based off which students in the district were in "greatest need," according to Lee Cole, executive director of Columbus City Schools Community Engagement and Partnerships.

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Cole added that schools filled out a needs assessment and were matched with the program based on the number of students in the building, their need, the number of coats and the students' sizes.

"So let's say if it was a middle school but when we tabulated all the sizes, we had 150 adult-sized coats," Cole said. "We couldn't serve the middle school because we didn't have enough sizes to accommodate those particular buildings."

Andrea Douglass, a family ambassador at Burroughs Elementary, said she has had parents ask her about getting coats for the cold seasons. Other major needs that she hears from families involve help with Christmas gifts, as well as housing and transportation.

Douglass said that every student in the building would receive a coat regardless of their family needs so that no student would be singled out.

"I've talked to families that are like, 'Oh, my kid has a coat.' I said, 'Well, you probably know someone that needs a coat' and they say, 'Yeah, I'll just pass it on.'"

Just in time for the cold

The winter coats come at a perfect time for many of the students, especially as temperatures have dropped in the past week and snowflakes have been making sporadic appearances.

Martinique Ridley, who does social media and marketing for United Way and was volunteering at Burroughs, said some of the students that passed through the gym Wednesday morning were actually about to head out on a field trip later that day.

"Literally, we got to see the impact of those coats, which is really nice," Ridley said.

And while the jackets were perfect for students heading out — whether for a field trip or just playing outside during recess — it's also helped with expenses for bigger families like Samantha Stafford's.

Stafford, 32, has three kids attending Burroughs — a kindergartener, first grader and a second grader. She said they've typically gotten their jackets through hand-me-downs from cousins or older siblings. Because new coats are so expensive, she said distributions like the one that took place Wednesday help a lot.

"They grow like weeds. They're growing all the time," Stafford said. "So it really does help to not have to buy coats this winter. That means a lot."

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As students picked out their coats, many put them on right away, sometimes over a much lighter jacket they were already wearing that day. Some thanked and even hugged the volunteers.

"The littler ones were the most wholesome because as soon as they try on a coat, you know that they love it because their whole face lights up," Stafford said. "They got a smile from ear to ear."

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mylee@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus City Schools distributes winter coats for elementary kids