AURORA — S.W. Snowden Elementary School students and staff can now beat the chill of winter while also showing school pride.

PotashCorp-Aurora donated about 250 jackets with the school’s Trojan logo to every student and staff member, as well as a collection of backpacks. The school held an assembly on Friday to thank the company for its generosity.

Catherine Tahaney, principal at S.W. Snowden, said PotashCorp approached her about the donations because of the good things they were hearing about the school.

She said the students are often in need of some of the basics, including food and weather-appropriate clothing, so receiving winter coats was important for the school.

S.W. Snowden sent out order slips to the family, and once the order came in, each student had to try on his or her jacket to make sure it fit, Tahaney said.

“We had to a little bit of prep work,” she said. “This was a such a big deal and the students were so appreciative.”

Ray McKeithan, manager of public affairs at PotashCorp, said the decision to donate the jackets was meant to support S.W. Snowden and reward them for their hard work.

“The coats and backpacks are small rewards to students, faculty and staff who are working so hard to make good things happen at the school. We also recognize many students face significant challenges and are working closely with the Bright Futures initiative to help meet students’ basic needs to foster scholastic achievement,” McKeithan said in a statement. “Our PotashCorp site in Joplin, Missouri started this program and we were inspired to do the same here with Snowden School. We are proud to partner with Beaufort County Schools and the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce in the many other projects that are helping students focus on learning and development.”

Barbara Jones, who serves on the Bright Futures Beaufort County board, which is an organization dedicated to meeting students’ needs, said in a previous interview that the gift of jackets even prompted the recent school-wide Cash for Coats drive.

“That was overwhelming,” Jones said of the jacket donations. “Our kids are really good about sharing things and giving back to others. … What we decided was it might be better for like, you know, a pay it forward thing.”

Tahaney said she already saw students wearing their jackets out in the Aurora community this weekend.

“We appreciate PCS and that they have reached out to S.W. Snowden to show their support,” she said. “We look forward to many future partnerships with them.”