Collaboration to Secure Coats for Jefferson County Children

WORKING TOGETHER — Representatives from four organizations gathered after the final planning meeting for a joint coat and boot giveaway to benefit Jefferson County children. From left to right, Jodi Keller, service extension director for The Salvation Army of Northeast Ohio; Rebekah Cohen Morris, executive director of Aim Women’s Center; Bobbyjon Bauman, executive director of the Sycamore Youth Center; Linda Trushel, executive director of the Jefferson County Family and Children First Council, and Lisa Irvine, Salvation Army officer. –Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE – Four organizations are working together to ensure no Jefferson County child goes without a coat this winter.

Applications are being taken for a coat and boot giveaway hosted by the Jefferson County Family and Children First Council, the Salvation Army, the Sycamore Youth Center and the Aim Women’s Center. Boots and jackets sizes 2T through YXL from Operation Warm are offered through the JCFCFC, while The Salvation Army’s Coats for Kids program covers jackets outside these sizes.

Applicants must be under 17 years of age and below 200 percent of the federal poverty level for Operation Warm Clothing, although there is no income requirement to receive a coat through Coats for Kids.

Individuals can sign up by visiting. The deadline to apply is November 15.

The giveaway itself will take place from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on December 5 in conjunction with the Sycamore and Aim Bundle Up for Christmas Event. The event, with free food and music, will be hosted at the Sycamore Center, 301 N. Fourth St., Steubenville.

Sycamore’s executive director, Bobbyjon Bauman, said his organization has previously offered coats to elementary school children through Operation Warm, but this year’s partnership ensures all ages are covered.

“We’ve really created a community of people who have the energy to do this together,” Bauman said: “and we think we can do it more effectively and reach more people, rather than one of us doing it ourselves. I think that has been a blessing for all of us.”

JCFCFC director Linda Trushel added: “It is much better to work together so that we can reach more families.”

Operation Warm is a national non-profit organization that produces jackets and shoes for underprivileged children. This year, Trushel said, all Family and Children First Councils in the state were notified that they could order free coats for eligible families through the Ohio Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Coat and Shoe Program.

The offer is part of the Administration for Children and Families federal grant program and is being extended to individuals who meet the eligibility requirements for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Individuals can indicate their eligibility on the giveaway application, said Trushel, whose organization coordinates services for children and families in the county.

“I have been in the field for a long time” Trushel said. “With the Director of Family and Children First, you work with the children and families in their homes. When we’ve given coats in the past, when the kids come in and go, “This coat is for me?” It just warms your heart that they appreciate a nice, warm coat for the winter so much. So I’m curious what the children will think about it and that we can see children walking down the street with a nice, warm coat and a new coat…”

Because Operation Warm can only supply sizes 2T through YXL, The Salvation Army has filled the size gaps through the Coats for Kids program, which uses local donations to purchase new coats for children. Individuals do not need to qualify for TANF to receive a coat through this program.

Jodi Keller, service extension director for the Salvation Army of Northeast Ohio, said the Christian church and charity organization “Happy to be part” of cooperation that makes helping children easier.

“We’re making friends, we’re making connections (and), most importantly, we’re going to provide some babies and some older kids with some clothes. Operation Warm supplies jackets from 2T to YXL. Some kids are a little bigger than that, so we can buy those extra sizes, as well as the smaller sizes and car seats (covers).”

Those smaller coats and car seat covers are given to Aim. Representatives from the crisis pregnancy center will distribute these to mothers of children up to 2 years old.

Aim’s Executive Director Rebekah Cohen Morris described why protecting customers from the cold is critical.

“We have so many people walking to school, taking the bus, coming all the way to doctor’s appointments in the cold – sometimes no car. So it’s important to have something protective over the car seat, and we want to make sure that all babies are protected. And then of course the toddlers and children who are not yet of compulsory school age, we want to make sure that they are also warm and can play outside and are not locked up in the house. Everyone deserves to be warm in this weather.”

The distribution will take place during the Bundle Up for Christmas Event, one of the quarterly block parties that neighboring Sycamore and Aim centers are hosting this year. The event will feature free food and entertainment, namely a performance by the Steubenville High School Jazz Choir.

Each child who registers will receive one coat and one pair of boots, if eligible.

The applications were scheduled to be distributed to all schools in Jefferson County on Monday.

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