BUTTE - We all know it gets cold in Butte, well, fortunately, there’s a nonprofit that believes school kids shouldn’t have to get cold, too, and that’s a good thing because here at Margaret Leary School, there’s one student who has a winter activity where he’s going to need his coat.
“I like, I have snowball fighters with my brother when it’s snowing, like really packing snow,” Tuff Schleicher, a student at Margaret Leary, said.
The nonprofit Operation Warm will make sure Tuff stays warm while hurling snowballs this winter by giving away hundreds of coats to students at the school. The group has distributed over 7 million coats to kids in need for 27 years.
WATCH: "It's my favorite color!" 💙 Students at Margaret Leary School got to choose their own free winter coats from Operation Warm
Organizers say the kids were so grateful to get a coat.
“They are so sweet, they love just getting to pick something that works with their personality that makes them feel special,” Hayley Bell of Operation Warm said.
Willow, what do you think of your new coat?
“I like it,” Willow Collins said.
Why do you like it so much?
“Cuz, it’s my favorite color,” she said.
Volunteers with FedEx helped make sure the coats fit the students.
“The kids get to come in and choose their coat; it’s not just that everybody gets the same coat, so they can pick their style and the right fit,” Margaret Leary Principal Jennifer Luoma said.
What do you think about getting a free coat?
“A free coat?” Rex Ratcliff said.
It’s free.
“They’re all for free? I’ll take up one,” he said.
Luoma added, “Parents have been so grateful for this program. They have messaged me that it just helps them out, they don’t have to worry about keeping their kids warm this winter.”
