Work With Us

Whether you are an individual, a major corporation or a small business, radio station, foundation or corporate grantor, or an organization looking to receive new coats for children you serve, there are ways you can help.  Read below to learn the various ways you can work with Operation Warm, or email us for more information!

Individuals

There are a wide variety of ways individuals can work alongside us, from volunteering to fundraising.

Major corporations and small businesses

Some of our biggest sponsors are corporations and local businesses.  Numerous businesses in a variety of industries have found partnering with Operation Warm a great cause marketing campaign that brings camaraderie, collaboration, and a sense of team work to your organization!

Radio Stations

Our broadcast partners help serve their community by running their own coat programs and/or by broadcasting Public Service Announcements in support of our work in their local community.

Colleges and Universities

As a college student, university staff, or representative of a student organization or fraternity, check out the numerous ways you can plug your school into Operation Warm’s efforts at a local level in your community.

High Schools

We encourage and embrace high school students who want to use our mission as a senior project and also encourage you to form or utilize an existing club to partner with us and expand our mission to your own community. 

Firefighters Coats for Kids

Working through our Coats for Kids Foundation, the Fairfax County VA chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters raises funds to provide new coats to local children in need.  We're working with the IAFF to expand this program throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Firefighters understand that children at risk means our future's at risk. By embracing Firefighters Coats for Kids with Operation Warm, IAFF and its members have the opportunity to become the largest national donor of new winter coats to children living in need.  Email us for more information.

Marketplace

As Operation Warm’s mission spreads, independent organizations who share our vision that no child should be left in the cold turn to us to purchase new coats at our competitive price, made possibly by volume discounts from our manufacturer.  Another advantage of buying coats through Operation Warm’s Marketplace is our proven logistics model that enables us to supply coats “just in time,” reducing order lead times and eliminating costly storage, sorting and distributions.  Click here for our new coat order form.

Regional Coat Programs

Operation Warm raises money in conjunction foundation and corporate donors to provide new winter coats to organizations serving children in need but are unable to provide their own funding for coats. These distribution partners, identified jointly with our funding partners, are organizations like Operation Warm that serve children in need.  While much of our funding comes from foundations and corporations, we are experiencing an increase in individual support for more regionalized campaigns. Distribution partners include schools, shelters, city agencies and a broad network of community-based organizations.  With the help of various funders and partner organizations, we are able to bridge the gap between our resources, grass roots engagement and distribution at the community level.

While we receive requests for coats from many more agencies than our funding accommodates, if you are an agency in need of coats, you may submit to our waiting list by clicking here.

Rotary Clubs and Civic Groups

Since our beginnings, Operation Warm has enjoyed the support and commitment of hundreds of Rotary Clubs throughout the country.  Founder Dick Sanford purchased 58 winter coats in 1998 and turned to his rotary club, (the Longwood Rotary in Kennett Square PA) to help distribute the original coats and expand fundraising efforts for future years. Today, over 100 Rotary Clubs nationwide work directly with Operation Warm and implement service projects that benefit organizations serving children in their communities.  Email us for information about how your Rotary Club can work with us.