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Realtors Care Blanket Drive begins Nov. 14 in Langley, Lower Mainland

For a 22nd year, realtors are ready to collect and distribute for their annual Blanket Drive.
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The Langley team (left to right: Karen Weber, Clayton Lindberg, Tammy Evans, and Susi Buchin) is collecting items at local real estate offices.

Have clothing or blankets to spare?

If so, you could be helping close to 20,000 people to stay warm and dry for the incoming winter season, through the Realtors Care Blanket Drive.

The 22nd annual drive kicks off Nov. 14 and runs until Nov. 22.

The drive is a week-long collaborative effort from realtor volunteers and real estate offices across the Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver, Chilliwack, and surrounding areas.

Donations are collected from the public and then sorted and distributed to charities in the same community in which they were received.

Participating community organizations rely heavily on public donations to help acquire much-needed blankets, coats, gloves and other weather appropriate clothing for women, children and men.

Realtors collected approximately 237 bags of warm winter clothing and blankets for Langley last year, one of the highest volumes for the area in their 20 years of participation.

This year they are working three organizations in Langley, Gateway of Hope (Salvation Army), the Ishtar Transition Housing Society, and Wagner Hills Ministry.

“They do incredible work,” said Michael Gleboff, communications coordinator with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

“We’re really hoping to get them the resources they need.”

In particular, realtors are looking for:

• Gateway of Hope: Blankets and warm clothing/coats

• Ishtar Transition Housing Society: Women and children’s’ clothing, blankets

• Wagner Hills Ministry: Men’s jackets, blankets, socks, clothes, and shoes

This year, more than 50 organizations will receive support from the collected donations.

“Through the Realtors Care Blanket Drive, we’ve had the chance to partner with many wonderful, caring charities in our region for over 20 years,” FVREB president Charles Wiebe said. “It is heartening to know that members of the public and realtors continue to be motivated by compassion and concern for those less well-off than themselves.

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Dan Morrison said of this year’s event, “It’s a privilege to continue this tradition of helping our neighbours keep warm this winter. We need anything you can spare: blankets, gloves, scarves – as long as it’s warm, and in good condition.”

More than 100 real estate offices across the Lower Mainland will be acting as drop-off locations for this year’s drive.

Go to www.blanketdrive.ca for their locations and contact information.

You can drop items off at these Langley and Aldergrove real estate offices:

RE/MAX Little Oak Realty – 9148 Glover Rd.

HomeLife Benchmark Realt – 6323 197 St.

Macdonald Realty – 22424 Fraser Hwy.

Prudential-Power Play Realty – 20585 Fraser Hwy.

RE/MAX Treeland Realty – 101-6337 198 St.

Royal LePage Wolstencroft – 110-19925 Willowbrook Dr.

Sutton Group-West Coast – 156-19653 Willowbrook Dr.

HomeLife Benchmark – 201-20999 88 Ave.

RE/MAX Lifestyles Realty – 8-8880 202 St.

HomeLife Benchmark Cloverdale – 103-5830 176A St.

RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty  – 26641 Fraser Hwy.

For updates, follow #RCBD2016 or www.facebook.com/BlanketDrive.

The drive is a partnership between the realtors of the Fraser Valley, Greater Vancouver and Chilliwack, and District Real Estate Boards, and their communities.