Donation helping keep children warm

Thanks to a partnership between the Madison School District and a pair of Mentor businesses, along with Coats for Kids, a number of Madison Schools’ elementary students will receive new coats to help them through the winter.

According to the school district’s Dec. 19 news release, “a combined $15,000 from Mentor-based Just In Time Staffing and Buyers Products Co. will make this holiday season much warmer for the several hundred children who attend North Elementary School in Madison.”

The release goes on to say:

“Employees of both companies, along with Coats for Kids representatives, will be at the school on Friday, Dec. 22 at 8 a.m. for a pre-holiday break coat distribution event that will result in every student at the school receiving a brand new, warm winter coat.”

Just In Time Staffing had this to say:

“Our companies and employees wanted to do something to give back during this season of giving,” said Lisa Donato, vice president of human resources, Just In Time Staffing. “We discussed different organizations we might like to work with, and decided on Coats for Kids because they are a small, local organization that is doing good right here in Northeast Ohio, where we felt our donation could make a significant impact.”

According to the school district, “Coats for Kids worked with the companies to identify a school where the majority of children enrolled participate in the federal free or reduced lunch program. With Just in Time Staffing and Buyers Products based in Mentor, the hope was to give back to a school in Lake County, and North Elementary School in Madison was deemed the perfect fit.

“Every year, Coats for Kids identifies K-8 schools in public school districts in our service area with the highest numbers of children participating in the federal lunch program, then works with directly with those schools to identify children in need of a winter coat. We distribute about 10,000 new coats each year through our school program, and already distributed hundreds of coats to children in other Lake County schools prior to Thanksgiving,” said Debbie Martinko, Coats for Kids executive director. “This completely unexpected and very generous donation from Just In Time Staffing and Buyers Products will allow us to help even more children this year by sending every child from North Elementary home for the holidays with a brand-new winter coat.”

Coats for Kids

The history of Coats for Kids dates back to 1981, when local radio station employees became aware of a large number of children missing school in the winter because they did not have warm coats. That November, Coats for Kids — Cleveland was founded when the radio station began soliciting donations of new or like-new winter coats.

That first campaign filled the studio, and subsequent campaigns brought in even more coats, along with monetary donations used to purchase new coats. Since then, millions of dollars have been raised and hundreds of thousands of new and like-new coats have been distributed to children in need in Northeast Ohio.

Just in Time Staffing

Established in 2003, Just In Time Staffing is a full service employment agency specializing in temporary, long-term, seasonal and executive placements. Just In Time Staffing has placed more than 55,000 to work in local communities and partners with the best companies in the area.

Buyers Products Co.

Established in 1946, Buyers Products Co. manufactures all types of equipment for the work truck industry. Buyers Products specializes in durable truck boxes, heavy duty towing equipment, hydraulics, controls, and all-season trailer accessories. The Buyers line of snow and ice equipment includes: SnowDogg snowplows, SaltDogg spreaders, and ScoopDogg snow pushers.