With more than 600 coats piled high on the cafeteria tables, the Westwind students couldn’t contain their smiles and excitement as they waited for their turn to “shop” for a coat.
“This is my seventh or eighth time doing this. I mean, just look at the kids’ faces,” said Lubbock Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Kevin Pounds. “You can beat this. It’s the best thing ever.”
Pounds, along with dozens of other Lubbock firefighters and volunteers from the Texas Tech Women’s Basketball team, area businesses, and organizations, formed a line that wrapped around the cafeteria. One by one, each volunteer teamed up with a student, where they browsed hundreds of coats until the student found the perfect one to call their own.
“You’re here with these kiddos, and they’re just overwhelmed. You give them all these choices,” said Pounds. “Just to see the smiles on their faces – and look at that girl right there, she’s just dancing with her coat on - that’s the best thing. This is what it’s all about.”
Bringing smiles and warmth to students is what the Lubbock Professional Firefighters Association, LPFFA, has been doing for the past 13 years as part of their Coats for Kids campaign. Westwind was one of three schools this year to benefit from the LPFFA campaign, where more than 1,400 new coats were given to area students for the winter. During their visit to Westwind, every single student received a new coat to take home.
“They’re so proud of their coats. They’ve just been so thankful and excited,” said Westwind Principal Dawn Powell. “They love the different colors, and they love that they’re able to pick it out themselves. That gives them some control over it, and that’s a big deal to them to have a say in choosing their new coat.”
Powell says the event was more than just helping students stay warm this winter. It was a lesson on how a community comes together to show its love for one another.
“Our students were able to see all these volunteers and people come in today just for them. It shows them that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, than their families, than their school even,” said Powell. “It warms my heart seeing these students being taken care of by those who came in. It shows that we are a community and a community takes care of each other.”
Each year, LPFFA purchases the coats through money raised from its annual golf tournament. And each year, the community and their sponsors show up in a big way, allowing them to grow their campaign and impact across the South Plains
“We don’t know which one of these kids we are touching. We have no idea. We offer this to every kid in the school,” said Pounds. “I hope that there are numerous kids who this is a treasure for them. That’s what we are after, helping these kids. While we don’t know who we touch, I can see the faces of those who I’ve helped today and they’re smiling.”
To learn more about LPFFA’s Coats for Kids campaign and how you can help, email [email protected]