WARM HEART

Group gives new coats to 13,000 needy kids

DURING THIS frigid weather, the morning trek to school has gotten a little warmer for thousands of homeless and low-income city students — thanks to a national nonprofit group that provided brand new coats to needy kids.

Operation Warm has donated 13,000 new coats to city students — a gift that city educators said can boost morale and even attendance at their schools.

“The kids’ faces just light up when they see them,” said Melitina Hernandez, principal of Public School 123 in Harlem.

Her school distributed 450 coats to its students in recent weeks, she said.

“This is a source of pride and when they are warm they get to school on time,” she said. “Their morning starts right.”

The city Education Department said the coats are going to community schools that serve large num- bers of students who are low-income or live in temporary housing.

So far, 3,000 have been delivered to 10 schools in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Another 8,000 are headed to community schools that serve as neighborhood hubs and offer students and their families social services and extra academic help.

Studies have shown low-income kids often stay home from school in bad weather.

“If students aren’t in the classroom they cannot learn, and with this donation we are removing a barrier to attendance during the cold winter months,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña.

“This is going to improve student outcomes and students’ lives,” she said.

Hernandez said Operation Warm provided coats in a number of colors and styles so students are able to blend in with their peers.

“Our families sometimes travel half an hour to get to school,” she said. “These warm coats really matter. When they get to school they don’t have to think through the cold.”

The group provides free coats to more than 300,000 children every year through donations from manufacturers and other organizations.

“Every year we hear stories about children who don’t want to take off their coats for weeks — they want to sleep in them,” said Rich Lalley, executive director of Operation Warm.

“Often, it’s the first new coat they’ve ever owned,” he said.

The remaining donated coats will go to the city Department of Homeless Services.

Chancellor Carmen Fariña Principal Melitina Hernandez hugs kids who got free coats at Public School 123 in Harlem on Wednesday. The outerwear, in a variety of styles, comes from nonprofit Operation Warm.