More than 36,000 Lower Mainland residents in B.C. will receive blankets and warm clothing this winter thanks to donations collected during the 23rd annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive.
In November, more than 100 real estate offices served as drop-off locations for donations. Realtor volunteers then collected, sorted and delivered the donations to local charities last week.
“This year’s donations will once again help charitable organizations across the Lower Mainland bolster their supply of warm clothing for those most in need,” says Jill Oudil, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president. “We’re thankful for the thousands of people who responded generously to this year’s campaign and to the hundreds of Realtor volunteers who collected and distributed the donations.”
Volunteers Tina Gonzalez, Daniel John and Diana Dickey of Sutton Group – Seafair Realty in Richmond, B.C. take donations to the Richmond Salvation Army.
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.
“A warm blanket can mean the world to someone who is suffering in the cold,” says Derek Weiss, Union Gospel Mission spokesperson. “Year after year, the Blanket Drive makes an immediate difference in the lives of people who need our help the most.”
The 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.
