MOLINE, Ill. — Members of the Moline Breakfast Optimist Club presented 61 preschoolers in need at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center with new sneakers, mittens, hats and coats Wednesday morning.
For more than 20 years, the "Shoes and Coats that Fit" program has supplied shoes and winter gear to students at Jefferson, part of the Moline-Coal Valley School District. With fundraising and member donations, the club has given children more than 2,000 pairs of shoes and 300 coats since the program began.
Patrick Wendt, chairman of the Shoes and Coats that Fit program, said parents are sent letters telling them about the program. If their child needs shoes or winter gear, the parents respond with the child's sizes.
"We do it for the joy of giving," Wendt said. "It's probably the most fun project we have because we get to see the result firsthand of what we've been able to do."
Wendt encouraged others to join an Optimist club. Started in 1959, the Breakfast Optimists are dedicated to helping children through community service projects in the Quad Cities area. The club meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Fresh Kitchen Breakfast and Lunch, formerly Windmill Family Restaurant, in East Moline.