A Little Christmas Warmth

For a December, Wednesday was a warm, balmy day. But colder days will inevitably come. And when they do, several local kids will have a nice, new coat to ward off the chill.

For that they can thank Fran Geddis, who runs "Coats for Kids" and the Columbia-based Grace Hill Ministry, and the people who serve with her. Together, they presented 28 children at St. Andrews Middle School on Wednesday with nice new winter coats from Belk's -- a luxury that their families might not otherwise be able to afford.

"It's really all about the heart," said Geddis, matter of factly. "We're just doing what God calls us to do."

There are plenty of coats-for-kids type of charities, but Geddis' may likely be one of the originals, at least in the Midlands. 

"It started over 25 years ago when my daughter was a student here," said Geddis. "What we would do was just buy coats for children in need. And it has grown into more than just a one-woman operation. The school has provided us with a list of students who are in need of coats. So at Christmastime, we take the opportunity to buy them a brand new coat, not someone else's used coat. There's nothing wrong with that; but at Christmastime we just want the kids to feel special."

Throughout the day Wednesday, students filtered in individually to the school's auditorium to receive their new coats, away from the glare and gossip of fellow students. The quiet, and mostly private, exchange is also typical of Geddis' charity. Geddis and her group operate without much fanfare or publicity -- the presence of a reporter was a novel event, she said. 

And, typically, Geddis does not even solicit outside monetary donations. Mostly, the coats are bought by Geddis and her cohorts. "Donations and grants and things are fine," she said, "but this is something we can do ourselves."

Among the myriad ways to help children, why coats? For Geddis, the reason stems from her own childhood experience.

"As a child, I went for three or four years without a coat -- and it always stayed with me," she said. "When I had my own daughter, she had more than she could ever need. It's just something the Lord laid on my heart, reminding me that other children didn't have. It started as a mother-daughter project, teaching her how to give back. And then it just went from there."