More than 36,000 Lower Mainland residents will receive blankets and warm clothing this winter thanks to donations collected during the 23rd annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive.
Between Nov. 14 and 21, over 100 real estate offices served as drop-off locations for donations. Volunteers then collected, sorted and delivered the donations to local charities earlier in December.
In Langley, 165 bags of warm clothing and blankets were collected for partner charities Gateway of Hope, Ishtar Transition Housing Society and Wagner Hills Ministry.
“The Realtors Care Blanket Drive continues to be tremendously important in helping us stock up our supplies for the long, cold winter months,” said Angie Paulsen, clothing co-ordinator at NightShift Street Ministries, one of the partner charities in Surrey.
“We see the needs in our programs grow every year so we are very grateful for the support.”
All donations remain in the community in which they were collected. More than 70 Lower Mainland charities received donations from the blanket drive this year.
“This wouldn’t be possible without the immense generosity of our communities, the support of our partner organizations and the continued dedication of our volunteers. Thanks to you, many will be warmer and more comfortable this winter,” said Gopal Sahota, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president.
The blanket drive is a partnership between the Realtors of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board and their communities.
The program is the largest and longest running blanket drive in British Columbia. Since it began in 1994, it has helped more than 340,000 people keep warm and dry during the winter months.
For more info, visit www.blanketdrive.ca or www.facebook.com/blanketdrive.
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