Save the date (and warm clothes) for our 2018 REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive

Mark your calendar! The 2018 REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive will be running from Tuesday, November 13 to Tuesday, November 20. REALTORS®, brokerages and staff from the Fraser Valley, Greater Vancouver and Chilliwack and District Boards are already starting to gear up for the 24th year of this worthy event and we need your help.

In addition to saving the dates, you can help by:

Becoming a volunteer:

We’re looking for members to help promote, collect and deliver donations to local community groups that help women, children, men and youth in local communities.

We always ask last year’s volunteers if they’d like to volunteer again but if you’re a new member or you’ve never volunteered for the Drive and you think you might be interested in helping, contact Debbie, our Blanket Drive coordinator so she can follow up.

This year we need more volunteers in the Abbotsford and Mission areas. There will be a kick-off meeting for the Drive with all our volunteers in October.

Looking for donations now:

You might not be thinking about sweaters or even an umbrella now, given the hot weather we’ve been having but the Blanket Drive week usually comes and goes before you realize it. Start looking in your drawers, closets and storage now for potential donations so you don’t miss it! We will need warm or waterproof clothing, blankets, sleeping bags and warm accessories such as gloves, toques, scarves, mittens, and ponchos that are in good condition.

The volunteers say, “If every Fraser Valley member gave just one black bag worth of donations to the Drive this year, we’d shatter all previous records!”

If one of your local stores is having a big sale, we could use some new socks and underwear for men, women and children in all sizes. Some stores will even offer a discount if you explain to them that you’re planning to donate them to local charities.

Informing clients early:

Clients moving soon? Let them know that we run a yearly Blanket Drive and if they have anything to donate, you can help get it to people who might be able to use it. Again, we accept donations of clothing or blankets in good condition. The volunteers strive to collect items that they would be happy to receive if they needed help and hope you will too.

Encouraging your office to participate in the Drive:

Just like our volunteers, we will approach last year’s offices first to find out if they can help with the Blanket Drive again.

If your office is new, or never been involved with the Drive and would like to be, let us know. We’ll get in touch to find out if your office meets the requirements to be a donation drop-off location.

Suggesting new community groups to support:

If you have any suggestions on charities or other community groups to support in the REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive, let us know. We’d be interested in adding groups that would be willing to accept clothing or blankets.