Operation Noel

Operation Noel is a 501(c)3 organization formed for the sole purpose of raising funds to purchase brand new coats for underprivileged children in El Paso and its surrounding communities during the Christmas holidays. More than 65 area agencies and schools select the children who are most in need of coats. These lists of children are compiled from August through November by caseworkers and school counselors who in turn provide the lists to Operation Noel. Each year, money raised through the efforts of the Operation Noel partners ? HUB Insurance, KVIA-7, Mattress Firm and The El Paso Times ? and from individual, corporate, and organizational donations, as well as the annual Operation Noel ?Mini? Telethon, goes towards paying for the entire cost of the coats without any administrative overhead.

For more than 69 years, Operation Noel has looked out for some of our area's neediest children. The charity has evolved over the years, but it's primary mission today is to provide new winter coats to more than 18,000 children in the region whose families cannot afford to buy the coats for them In 1939, Ruth Pooley, the wife of the Herald Post Editor, saw that a local jeans manufacturer had a Little Boys fund that provided new jeans for disadvantaged boys. She decided girls needed to be helped as well, so she began The Little Girls Dress Fund, asking readers to bring in new dresses or send in donations. When enough money was raised, she would buy new dresses for these little girls at the Popular Dry Goods Company. This practice continued until the early 1980's, when a Herald Post Reporter took over the project. The name was changed to Operation Noel and included both boys and girls. The focus was changed to sweat suits and jeans. By that time, several agencies were involved and more than 3,000 children were helped. The idea behind Operation Noel changed again when organizers learned that these children did not have coats to wear in the winter because their families couldn't afford them. The organizers contracted a local apparel company in El Paso, who in turn contracted a supplier to produce coats specifically for the children of Operation Noel. More than 65 area agencies and schools select the children who are most in need of coats. These lists of children are compiled from September through November by caseworkers and school counselors who in turn provide the lists to Operation Noel.