Blanket drive set to launch
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Updated: November 19, 2009 3:16 PM
Real estate offices from across the Lower Mainland are set to launch the 15th annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive. It begins Nov. 30 and runs until Dec. 7.
The drive began in 1995 with a handful of Vancouver offices collecting a few hundred bags of donations destined for the Downtown Eastside.
It has evolved to help the homeless and working poor all over the region.
There has been a huge change over the years in the people who need this help.
“Our region now has over 3,000 homeless people that we know of and countless thousands who rely on food banks and community organizations just to make ends meet,” said Scott Russell, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
“Donating a sweater, jacket or a sleeping bag to the drive allows recipients to have a few extra dollars to spend on essentials like food and shelter.”
Donations to the drive generally stay within the community in which they are donated.
The new Gateway of Hope shelter, which is set to open this month in Langley, will receive some of the blankets.
Each year, the organizers of the drive listen to the individual charities to see what needs to be collected.
“This year they’ve asked us to focus our collection on new blankets, sheets, sleeping bags and comforters, in addition to gently-used winter coats and clothing, because of a bed bug epidemic,” said Paul Penner, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
To find a list of all drop-off locations and charitable recipients, go to www.blanketdrive.ca.
