OKLAHOMA CITY — As Oklahoma heads into the coldest days of our winter season, thousands of students across the Oklahoma City Public School system are keeping warm thanks to the generosity of public donors and the coordination of the district’s own non-profit foundation.
Since 2016, the OKCPS Foundation has organized the Coat-A-Kid program, collecting more than $100,000 annually to provide brand-new, free winter coats for public school children in need throughout Oklahoma City.
“Winters can be brutal in Oklahoma,” said OKCPS Foundation president Mary Mélon-Tully at a press event distributing coats to students at Britton Elementary. “Without the support of our generous partners, we know that thousands of OKCPS students would not have a coat to keep them warm on their way to and from school.”
Cold facts
As the largest school district in the state, OKCPS sees nearly 34,000 students in their classrooms throughout the year, and a remarkably high number of them live in financial conditions that might be burdened by the need for a new coat.
As of the beginning of the 2023-24 school season, 92% of OKCPS students – roughly 30,000 children – were at or below the poverty line, meaning that many rely on programs like Coat-A-Kid to stay safely warm when the temperatures drop.
“Our kids come to us with a lot of wonderful talents and characteristics that we love, but they also have a lot of challenges,” OKCPS superintendent Sean McDaniel told Free Press. “One of the challenges that many of our kids have is how to stay warm during the winter months. Some of them have never owned a coat in their entire lives. This is the very first coat they’ll ever have.”
Warm response
Rather than accept donations of used or secondhand coats, the Coat-A-Kid program is focused firmly on financial donations to buy brand new, never-worn coats for students.
Each year, that that means a number of surprising high-dollar donations from major contributors and companies like Dell, Boeing, and Diamondback Energy – all of whom donated over $5,000 this season – and Express Employment International, who donated an eye-popping $57,000 to the program for the 2023-24 school year.
Thanks heavily to that staggering donation, the Coat-A-Kid program was able to announce that they’d be fully funded to provide a coat to every OKCPS student in need this season.
“At the end of our fiscal year 2022, we realized we had additional philanthropic dollars and thought, ‘we can make a difference?'” Express Director of Corporate Communications and PR, Sheena Hollander told us. “And we know for these kiddos, if we can remove one of the main barriers to education, and that’s having that warm coat in our very aggressive seasonal changes here in Oklahoma, that’s helping them start and chart a path for success.”
Continuing need
Since the launch of Coat-A-Kid in the OKCPS district in 2016, program leaders say they’ve been able to provide winter coats to more than 50,000 students in need.
“Coat-a-Kid is such an important initiative, and we are so grateful to the supporters that made this year’s program such a success and who continue to prioritize the physical, emotional and educational needs of our students,” said Mélon-Tully in a press statement. “Our schools can’t do it alone, and it’s incredible to see our community partners come together to make sure every child has all the resources they need for a bright future.”
Though generous donations and contributors like Express International have successfully surpassed the program’s funding goals for this school year, Coat-A-Kid is always accepting donations for coming years, especially as we expect to continue seeing potentially harsh, cold winters ahead.
Organizers say that a single donation of $20 will pay for one coat in full, but that any amount, no matter how small, will be happily accepted and will contribute to the program.
“Our Coat-a-Kid program is so much more than just giving students protection from the cold,” said Mélon-Tully. “It offers a child physical and emotional warmth, boosts self-confidence and socialization skills, empowers attendance and provides hope for a better future, all of which are integral components for educational success.”
To learn more about Coat-A-Kid, and to make a donation, visit okckids.com/coat-a-kid.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
