Continuing the annual tradition of giving, students at Lake Murray Elementary ended 2018 by collecting coats for children in need.

5th-grader Courtney E. Counts led this year’s “Give a Coat, Warm a Kid” coat drive, inspiring her fellow Mariners to bring in winter weather items. Students collected 207 coats from Dec. 1 through Dec. 27.

Courtney, winner of the 2018 Young Miss West Columbia pageant, led the coat drive as part of her community service. She created posters to place around school and participated in announcements on the Lake Murray Live news show, encouraging students in all grade levels to donate to this worthy cause.

Counts and her mother Leigh presented the coats to Mission Lexington, a nonprofit serving Lexington County.