Operation Warm gives area children in need brand new coats ahead of winter

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    MOLINE, Illinois (WQAD) — Kids who visited the Moline Public Library on Saturday walked out warmer than they were when they walked in.

Operation Warm, a national nonprofit that specializes in providing brand new winter coats to children in need, filled many Moline Public Library tables with boxes of coats of many styles and colors on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Operation Warm was financially assisted for this event with help from Tyson Fresh Meats and the Moline Rotary Club, alongside donations of money, hats, and gloves and the work of volunteers to distribute the items and help kids pick out the pieces of winter protection that fit them and appealed to their style. Tyson additionally held a bake sale to fundraise for the coat drive.

Tyson Community Liason Kimberly Cane expressed the need to help provide for poorer families in the Quad cities, saying, “I learned.. Our school districts Moline and Rock Island, that they are, in the state, one of the poorest. They have more than 50 percent of their students that qualify for free and reduced lunches and so we know there`s a need in the community for a program like this.”

Organizers say that hundred of coats were given away and that they were down to half of their supply by midday.

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