Providing Winter Coats to 1600 Chicagoland Underprivileged Children

Oppenheimer and Michael Kelly, Director of Chicago’s Private Client Group, were sponsors of the fourth annual “Operation Warm – Coats for Kids Charity Benefit.” This year’s event welcomed 150 guests, and provided 1600 new coats for Chicagoland Public School underprivileged children. The ceremony included a concert that was held at Valley Lo Club in Glenview, a northern suburb of Chicago.

Operation Warm is a national nonprofit that works to provide winter coats and shoes for children in need. After 22 years of service, the organization has donated approximately 4 million coats and over 30,000 new shoes in 1,300+ communities.

Mike Kelly spearheaded Oppenheimer’s involvement in the project. Mike joined the firm’s Chicago office in 2018 and brought with him his dedication to helping children during the cold winters of Chicago. At his previous firm he was the founder of Coats for Kids, which ultimately provided coats for over 50,000 children over the course of 8 years. Oppenheimer senior leadership led by Bob Hord and Barry Cash have been a tremendous support in this effort.

For Mike, this is a way of paying it forward and honoring his late son, Shane. He adds, “The thought of a child without the basic need of warmth is painful for all of us – and something that I wanted to dedicate a portion of my life to.”

To learn more about Operation Warm, please click here.

To watch a short video on Operation Warm, please click here.