Nov. 22, 2016 – West Bend, WI – Members of the West Bend Professional Firefighters Union gathered with members of West Bend Early Risers on Monday to make it the best day ever for students at Decorah Elementary School.
One by one, firefighters passed out new down winter coats.
Alyana, 9, got a turquoise coat. “It’s my favorite color and it’s totally warm,” she said.
Ayden, 9, said he already had a coat. “I have one but this one is better because it’s softer,” he said. “I also like dark colors because it’s easier to hide when I play hide-and-seek.”
This is the third year for Operation Warm where firefighters provide coats to needy children. About 200 coats will be donated this year.
On a side note: As kids were gathering in the classroom waiting for the coat distribution to begin they plopped themselves on the floor and looked at the adults in the room. Pretty soon one man was tossing out arithmetic problems. “What’s 11 minus 9,” he asked. A couple hands went up. “What’s 7 plus 5,” he said.
Then from the back of the room one of the firefighters said, “What’s 4 and 6? Third place in the NFC.”