Beth Marks and her colleagues at Sutton Group - Lakefront Realty collected coats, hats, gloves and blankets for a local shelter.

Winter is especially challenging for individuals and families who cannot afford proper clothing, food and shelter. Beth Marks, a sales rep at Sutton Group – Lakefront Realty in Vernon, B.C. founded the Sutton Warm & Fuzzy Shelter Collection.  Marks and a dozen colleagues greeted drivers in the parking lot of the office to accept donations of coats, gloves, hats, blankets and more.  “We collected enough to fill a mover’s truck to about half-full,” says Marks.  “We collected all types of winter clothing from long johns to coats and also blankets.”  Because the story was featured on the Okanagan news, more people found out about the event and dropped off items at the office over the next few days. “That second load was enough to fill the back of a pick-up truck.  We even had an Okanagan retail store call and donate boxes of new hoodies,” she says.

The collected items were donated to the Howard House and Gateway Shelters.