Fresno Teachers Association donates $2,000 to replace stolen coats intended for students

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno Teachers Association won't let the Grinch steal this Christmas from local students in need.

The organization has donated $2,000 to help replace coats intended for students at King Elementary School that were stolen on Tuesday.

The Central Valley Urban Institute collected hundreds of winter items for local students, loading them up to transport to the school. But when executive director, Eric Payne, came back to his car that night, his car window was smashed, and the coats were gone.

"On behalf of the staff and FTA members present at the event who personally donated items, and on behalf of our 4,300 members who continuously put our students and families first, we are sincerely happy to make this donation," Manuel Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association, said in a press release.

"They have some of the highest levels of concentrated poverty in America," said Payne. "What that means is most of the families live in public housing and so we wanted to give the gift of warmth."

Organizers are holding on to hope, and they still want to reach their goal of 600 coats this holiday season.

Donations are still welcome and can be dropped off at King Elementary. The address is 1001 E Florence Ave, Fresno, CA 93706. Coats will be distributed to students when they return from winter break.