Group delivers new coats to 300 elementary students

NKechi George-Winkler, president of Continental Societies Inc., helps Ca'shaye Harris, 9, try on a new coat at Chimborazo Elementary, in Richmond, on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. Behind them, Giselle Tenorio Ramierz, 10, (left) and Chadaysia Williams, 10, share in the fun.

By: Zachary Reid | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: December 03, 2008

It takes a special group to put a feel-good face on a social ill, but the Richmond chapter of the Continental Societies has plenty of practice.

It has been putting some of the city's least fortunate school kids into new winter coats for more than two decades.

The annual project began yesterday, with about 110 students at Chimborazo Elementary School getting coats. Similar giveaways are coming up in the next week or so at Richmond's Woodville, Clark Springs, Fairfield Court and Mary Scott elementary schools. In all, at least 300 children will receive new coats.

"It's just a special project," said Beverly B. Davis, a professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College who is chairwoman of the Continental coat committee. She's also in charge of the Dec. 20 Elegance in Black and White ball, the group's black-tie fundraiser for the coat project.

"A lot of kids get hand-me-downs," she said. "Imagine how nice it would be to get a nice, new beautiful coat that's your own."

The new coats are a big hit with Chimborazo students, said Cheryl L. Burke, the school's principal for the past 12 years.

"These coats are sharp," she said. "They are right in style, and they're a real pick-me-upper. To get a brand-new coat at Christmastime is a real plus."

Davis said the group buys the coats year-round but most are purchased at the end of the season when stores offer discounts.

The project hits home as members begin to realize the level of poverty in some parts of Richmond, Davis said.

"You can't believe this really exists here in Richmond," she said of stories about kids sleeping in their coats to keep warm. "We just know the need is there."

Burke said in the 10 years or so the program has been at Chimborazo, she and her staff have learned how to quietly identify the students most in need.

"At the end of the day, especially on these cold days, you can tell who has a warm coat and who doesn't," she said.

"If a child is well-fed and warm, that allows the child to be focused and on task, and that makes our job easier."

That the kids get something new and fun and useful? That's the priceless part of it, Burke said.

"It just elevates their self-esteem," she said.
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or zreid@timesdispatch.com.