NILES — The next time a student at Merritt Elementary forgets their gloves or hat at home, they will not have to worry about being cold, thanks to the Niles branch Honor Credit Union.

On Jan. 10, Honor Credit Union donated more than 60 pairs of gloves, hats and scarves to the Brandywine district school.

Jeanne Meyer, the Niles branch manager at Honor Credit Union, said they put up a Christmas tree at the bank and encouraged customers to add winter gear to its branches. Niles bank employees also handmade items to donate to the students, including 17 of the hats contributed. The bank also put out a collection jar, which raised $100 for the effort.

“We know that there are a lot of children that go to school without hats scarves and gloves for whatever reason,” Meyer said. “We wanted to make sure we could give the school an opportunity to help out the kids.”

Principal Matt Severin said children would often forget or lose track of their gloves or hats, while other students might have families that cannot afford them. With Honor Credit Union’s contribution, he said students would be able to go outside without having to worry about being cold.

“Just having extra mittens and hats for kids is so great,” Severin said.

He said children would be permitted to keep any of the hats, gloves and scarves donated.

Meyer said the bank typically does a similar project to help local children stay warm each year. This was the first year she said they had done the project for Merritt. The community and bank employees have gotten into the spirit of giving back, she said, helping the effort to reach more people in need. 

“It gets better every year,” Meyer said. “It’s really exciting to watch people bring in things and hang them on the tree and the tree gets so full we have to lay them on the bottom. It has been exciting to watch it grow from a dozen [items] into what it is now. Each year, we get more and more.”

For his part, Severin said he was grateful to the bank. He commended those who put the extra effort in to knit or crochet items for the students.

“Talk about not just giving, but giving your time,” Severin said. “Some folks actually gave that personal time to give to our kids [something warm to wear] and that warms our hearts. Our Brandywine community takes care of our kids and I really appreciate.”