PHOTOS: Portland firefighters have ensured that children in need at Portland Public Schools will stay warm this fall by distributing new coats to kids aged three to five. As part of their 16th annual “Coats for Kids” initiative, nearly 1,000 coats were handed out, marking a record for the program. Every child enrolled in the district’s pre-K program received a new winter coat. The firefighters emphasized the importance of the giveaway in keeping children warm and healthy.
Kapunia-Ryan, an executive board member of Local 4318, expressed the firefighters’ motivation: “That’s why we got in this line of work is that we want to help people. And to be able to help these kids, you know, it’s a very similar experience we have that a lot of people don’t when kids come and visit a fire station and they love the enthusiasm and energy and their faces lighting up, like we said.”
