Paxinosa Students Geared Up for Winter, Thanks to Easton Firefighters

By Christina Georgiou

Paxinosa Elementary School students show off their new winter coats Tuesday afternoon. The Easton Fire Department's
"Coats for Kids" campaign outfitted 125 kids in need with brand-new, American-made winter garments.
Click on any photo for a full size view.

It's getting chilly outside, and it's only going to get colder as winter comes, but 125 Paxinosa Elementary School students are well-prepared for the season after  Easton firefighters outfitted them with brand new winter coats this afternoon.

The Easton Firefighters Coats for Kids campaign raised almost $4,000 since its kick off in August to provide the American-made garments to students that participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program at the school.

A student, assisted by an Easton firefighter, picks up her
new coat in front of Paxinosa Elementary School Tuesday
afternoon.

The students had their choice of colors--light pink, dark pink, or purple for the girls and gray, bright blue, or khaki for the boys--and each coat was tried on to ensure the proper fit, with a little room to grow too. Then, each child's name was written on the label inside by the Easton firefighters who volunteered their time for the giveaway event shortly before the end of the school day in front of the Northampton Street school Tuesday afternoon.

Donations to pay for the warm winter garments came from a variety of community sources and individuals, Easton Firefighters Coats for Kids organizer James Cocheran said.

"We got a lot of help," he said.

Sponsors, in addition to private donations, included Two Rivers Brewing Company and Rivals Sports Bar and Nightclub, both of who held multiple fund raising nights where profits from sales were donated to the cause.

IRCO Community Federal Credit Union in Phillipsburg, NJ was a major sponsor of the campaign too.

"And that's really amazing, since they're not even in Easton," Cochoran said.

One young man can't contain his excitement after receiving
his new bright blue winter coat.

Other local and area community businesses, including American Printing, Easton T-Shirts and Logos, Vintage Restaurant, Genesis Bicycles, Minuteman Press, Spa Soleil, and Dorney Park, also donated funds, supplies and materials, he added.

For their part, the students seemed delighted with their coats, showing them off to friends and happily posing for photos.

But despite the happy atmosphere, that there is such a need for the coat drive should be cause for reflection, Easton Fire Department Chief John Bast said. More than 80 percent of the approximately 725 students that attend Paxinosa Elementary School are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program, and about 1 in 6 of the students that attend the school were recipients of the city firefighters' generosity.

Students also got some fire prevention tips from
"Coats for Kids" organizer, Easton firefighter James
Cochoran.

"It says something that we have to give away this many coats," he said. "We have to take care of each other."

Anthony Viglianti, who took over as Paxinosa's principal this year after serving as a principal at Easton Area Middle School, said the event showed how much the community cares about the students.

"This is unbelievable," Viglianti said. "The overwhelming support the city provides, not only to our students, but the families too, is unbelievable. I always knew it when I was at the middle school, but now that I'm here and get to see it first hand...well, it's just incredible."

But Cochoran and all the other firefighters with the Easton Fire Department who spent months fund raising and donating funds of their own to make the coats a reality were modest about their efforts.

"It couldn't have worked out better," Cocheran said, as the children cavorted around him. "It was really great to see the smiles on the faces of the kids."

Firefighters Aim to Keep Local Schoolchildren Warm This Winter

By Christina Georgiou

Winter may still seem like a long way off, but city firefighters are looking ahead and working to help keep as many local schoolchildren warm when the weather turns cold.

The "Easton Firefighters Coats for Kids" campaign hopes to provide brand new, American-made winter coats to students that participate in the free/reduced lunch programs at Paxinosa, Cheston, and March elementary schools in the city.

"We're trying to show the kids that they're worth something new," said campaign organizer and Easton firefighter James Corcoran. "We'd like to give them a self-esteem boost as well as make sure they're warm this winter."

The effort will also help recipients' families too, allowing the children's parents to allocate the money to other necessary expenses, he said.

The three schools were chosen out of the total of six Easton Area School District elementary schools because of the high number of students at each whose families are low-income, Corcoran said.

At Paxinosa Elementary School, 73 percent of the students are eligible for the free/reduced lunch program, while at Cheston and March, the numbers are 67 and 41 percent respectively. According to online statistics, 22 percent of all children in Easton live in poverty.

The firefighters' union, IAFF Local 713, which is sponsoring the campaign, has donated $1,000 to the cause, which will pay for the first 31 of the coats.

And, some local businesses are already helping out, Corcoran said.

Most notably, Two Rivers Brewing Company, which is directly across the street from the Downtown Easton fire station, will be holding a special happy hour event from 4 to 7 p.m. every Thursday in August, and 10 percent of all receipts at that time will be donated to the cause.

Click on this image for a full size view.

Fire station tours held from 5:30 to 7 p.m., along with a 50/50 raffle, may also draw more people to the five Thursday evening events too, organizers hope.

Other local businesses have been giving items to the charity drive's organizers that will be raffled between now and Oct. 16, the deadline for donations, Corcoran said. Again, all the money raised through the fundraisers will go directly towards the purchase of as many winter coats as possible.

"But, so far, it's been pretty slow," he said of the rate of donations, adding that while the firefighters hope to be able to provide a new coat to every kid in need, it may be that they will have to select specific classes at the three selected schools instead, and bypass providing coats to others.

Corcoran said he ultimately doesn't know how many children will be recipients of the drive, especially since it's the first year the union has held this sort of charity drive, and is being run through the national "Operation Warm" program.

"The original idea was to give every kid on the free- and reduced-lunch program a free coat, but we have to work with what we get," he said.

Corcoran is hopeful that once word of the coat drive gets out and the heat of summer begins to wane, more individuals will donate to the cause.

Donors aren't required pay for an entire coat, he said--any amount is welcome and will go directly towards buying the cold-weather garments.

Donations will be accepted through October 16, which will allow for the two-week turnaround the order from the manufacturer requires. The coats will then be distributed directly to the selected students in early November, hopefully in time for the arrival of cold weather.

Children will be allowed to choose the color of their coat, and each will have the recipient's name stitched inside too--a touch that lets the kids know the coat was made for them. Teachers will help fill out the order forms and measure students to ensure a good fit, Corcoran said.

"The cost is $32 per coat. However many donations we get, we'll work with that," Corcoran said.

To keep people up to date and provide more information about upcoming fundraising events that will contribute to "Easton Firefighters Coats for Kids", organizers have set up a Facebook page.

To contribute directly to the new coat drive online or learn more about the national "Firefighters Coats for Kids Foundation, visit the IAFF Local 713's web page on "Operation Warm" here.