Firefighters from East Pierce Fire & Rescue are teaming up with Operation Warm for the fourth annual Firefighters Coats for Kids Drive, an effort to provide new coats to kids in the community who would not otherwise be able to afford them. The firefighters will distribute coats to six elementary schools throughout the fire district.

At 11 a.m., Wednesday, November 9, firefighters will be distributing the first coats of the year in Sumner at Daffodil and Maple Lawn Elementary Schools.

Last year, the firefighters raised enough money to purchase more than 720 coats for underprivileged children who live within the fire district. “In 2014 and 2015, we ranked number 10 among all other fire departments in the United States for putting the most coats on kids,” said East Pierce Firefighter-paramedic Hunter Chumbley, who has been leading the effort since its launch in 2013.

For the fourth year in a row, Amazon will join East Pierce Professional Firefighters Local 3520 to fund the costs of the coats. “Amazon has supported this coat drive for the past four years and has consistently been one of the drive’s largest sponsors,” Chumbley said. Associates from the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Sumner will be on-hand to help the firefighters and staff hand out coats on Thursday.

New jackets are purchased from the Operation Warm, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established in Alexandria, VA in 2004. It is the distribution partner of Firefighters Coats for Kids.

Chumbley has set a goal of raising $35,000. “We are going to find a way to get coats on every kid in our district who needs a coat,” he said. “This means all the schools in every city we serve, if the child or teacher says they need a coat, I want to be able to supply them with that coat.”

As of Friday, the Local has raised approximately $15,000. They are still accepting donations from corporate sponsors and individual donors.

“We get asked often if we can take coat donations for this event, however we cannot,” Chumbley said. “All of the coats come from the Coats for Kids Foundation, so we need monetary donations to make this possible.”

To make an online donation, go to www.operationwarm.org/eastpierce or drop off a monetary donation during regular business hours at the headquarters fire station at 18421 Veterans Memorial Drive East, in Bonney Lake.