(MENTOR) - A surprise donation of a combined $15,000 from Mentor-based Just In Time Staffing and Buyers Products Company will make this holiday season much warmer for the several hundred children who attend North Elementary School in Madison.
Employees of both companies, along with Coats for Kids representatives, will be at the school on Friday, December 22 at 8 am for a pre-holiday break coat distribution event that will result in every student at the school receiving a brand new, warm winter coat.
“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.”
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!”