Whitney Avenue Elementary School students receive coats through Operation Warm and FedEx

Whitney Avenue Elementary School students are suiting up for winter! There were no shortages of smiles on Nov. 11, when all 400 of the school’s students in kindergarten through fifth grade received free winter coats and school supplies from nonprofit Operation Warm and FedEx.

“My favorite part about having Operation Warm and FedEx deliver these coats to me is seeing the happy faces of students getting their winter coats,” said fifth-grade student Sadaf Karimi.

Operation Warm manufactures and donates brand-new coats and shoes to the children who need them most, including Title I schools. Whitney was chosen by Operation Warm to receive jackets, as its students reflected a high need for cold-weather clothing.

FedEx delivered the jackets from Operation Warm’s headquarters directly to Whitney, helped students find their correct jacket size and wrote students’ names on their jacket tags. They also donated bags of school supplies including crayons, notebooks, highlighters, disinfectant wipes and more.

“It is important for every single student in my school to have a winter coat so they’re prepared for the winter too and so they don’t get cold,” Karimi said.

San Juan Unified is grateful for the partnerships that enhance students’ social, academic and emotional experiences.