ONEONTA _ Children at Riverside
Elementary school will be a little warmer
this winter thanks to a project by the
Oneonta Rotary Club.
The service club distributed about 60
coats Tuesday to students, said Principal
Melinda Murdock. The K-6 school has
about 191 students,
It is a project that involves working with
an organization from Chadds Ford, Pa.,
called “Operation Warm,” said Oneonta
Rotary President Chad Smith.
Using a $1,000 grant from Rotary District
7170 and about $300 from the general
fund, the club was able to purchase new
coats for those students who responded to
a letter sent home from school in October,
Smith said.
“The kids love them,” said Smith, who
worked with a Rotary crew to distribute
the coats.
“I’ve never seen so many smiles,” he
said during a break in the action.
Murdock said she was impressed that
Oneonta Rotary got “the big picture.”
For children to move forward, “their
basic needs have to be met,” she said.
“We are passionate about working
with outside organizations in meeting the
needs of the whole child,” she said.
Bringing the program to Oneonta was
the idea of Sam Koury, a former Oneonta
club president who is now a Rotary district
governor. He saw a presentation on
the program when he was at a Rotary meeting
in Minneapolis. He was glad the local
chapter could make it work, he said.
“It’s so gratifying to see these kids receiving
new jackets,” he said.
