WARMING UP KIDS FOR WINTER

Knights of Columbus coat drive

At St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School a set of triplets are each owners of a new winter coat. Other students at the school and across the city are also much warmer, thanks to the Knights of Columbus and Sangemino Insurance Agency, which have donated more than 1,500 coats to children in need through their “coats for kids” program in Ontario.

A total of 80 coats were donated by the Knights of Columbus to the local Catholic school board and St. Teresa is the kick off school. School board spokesman Stephen Fields said principals determined which children would receive coats. The children chose their own coats.

Enoch Dugbor, one of the triplets who received a winter coat, likes the colour of his and said it will keep him warm.

All the coats are new. Sonny Sangemino, a general agent for the Knights of Columbus, said they come from Canadian providers using high-quality materials to provide maximum warmth.

The program began 10 years ago and supports a variety of charities, schools and shelters.

“We found there is a common problem across Canada and the U.S. that kids are going cold and we wanted to leverage our relationship with the Catholic school boards and actually the public school boards as well and try to get coats on the backs of kids to spread the warmth,” said Sangemino. As of right now the Knights of Columbus collects coats and then notifies organizations of the amount they have available. Next year, Sangemino said he hopes to ask for numbers beforehand to rise to the demand.

“There’s always a need,” he said. “The kids are always growing and the need will continue to grow and we are there to meet it.”

DAX MELMER Victoria Dugbor and her sister Favor Dugbor, both Grade 2 students at St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School, inspect some of the new winter garments with Sonny Sangemino of the Knights of Columbus on Monday. The girls’ brother Enoch Dugbor also received a winter coat.