As the overnight temperatures dip in December, homeless people in the Lower Mainland will be warmer because of the sleeping bags, blankets, coats and other winter clothing donated and distributed during the 22nd annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive. The initiative relies on hundreds of volunteers including Baljit Singh Sandhu, a sales rep with Sutton Group – West Coast Realty in Surrey.
From left: Palwinder S. Sidhu, Mike Musgrove of the Surrey Urban Mission and Baljit S. Sandhu with some of the donations for the Blanket Drive.
Sandhu has served as an area co-ordinator for the Blanket Drive since 2003. In addition to making personal donations and gathering client contributions, he sorts and delivers. This year he delivered items to the Surrey Memorial Hospital and the Surrey Urban Mission with the help of his colleague, Palwinder S. Sidhu.
“Our office donated blankets plus 92 bags of clothing including 34 new coats,” says Sandhu. “Realtors and staff in the office donated $860 for the new coats and I negotiated a special discount from the Punjab Cloth House. The Surrey Memorial Hospital was grateful to receive the coats for their homeless patients, who often need medical care just because of cold. The hospital wants to discharge them with warm clothing to prevent similar health issues.”
Sandhu has volunteered at the hospital for 11 years. Once a week, he works as a “way finder” helping 50 to 70 people navigate the large facility. Previously, he helped arrange medical consultations and ICU entry. Sandhu is also a volunteer interpreter on the Canadian Red Cross helpline.
