Gloves of Love gives warmth to 18,000 kids over 7 seasons
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Wayne Township Fire Department and the George Day Memorial Foundation on Thursday celebrated a special accomplishment in the seventh year of their Gloves of Love event.
The outreach program has provided thousands of warm gloves and treats for kids during the holiday season since 2014.
The George Day Memorial Foundation was started in 2013 in memory of Chris Grady’s father, and foundation representatives joined with the Wayne Township Fire Department to start the program.
After seven years of the program, they hit a special milestone in 2021. After reaching more than 1,600 kids at Bridgeport Elementary and Robey Elementary, the program will have touched every elementary school in Wayne Township.
The fire department’s director of education, Jamie Meredith described how it feels to use this partnership to give back in this way, especially after taking a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re always looking for way to give back and we want it to be a positive connection with our firefighters for our children,” Meredith said. “So the fact we could be here on their last days right before the holidays and we’re giving something back to them, a warm pair of gloves, a candy cane, a smile, they will know that we’re there in our hearts that we absolutely have such a joyous time giving back to the kiddos.”
Meredith says the program has served more than 18,000 kids in Wayne Township.
Meridith and Grady shared what the moment means during Thursday’s “All Indiana.”