The 28th REALTORS® Care Blanket Drive officially wrapped up on November 21, with our dedicated volunteers collecting even after the campaign ended, and not stopping until they had a trailer full of donations!
Leanne Utendale, Manager of Overdose Prevention and Peer Support Services from Sources said,
“I want to extend a huge thank you for the donations that all your teams have brought in. We are beyond capacity and so thrilled with the sheer volume we will be able to hand out to those we serve – and our community partners are also very excited about what they’ve received.”
This year our volunteers collected 823 bags of warm clothing and blankets and included two trailers full of donations. That’s 10% more than last year!
- More than 60 volunteers helped collect, sort and transport donations
- 34 brokerages were designated drop-off locations
- 31 recipient charities were supported
- Our online fundraiser brought in $2,685 to be distributed among Fraser Valley charities
The Highlights:
New and different this year, Homelife Benchmark Titus held a community event to collect donations. Bernadette Singh from Homelife Titus stated, “By hosting a fundraising event within our community, we were able to collect more donations for the Blanket Drive”. In the end, the office collected 30 full bags of donations.
To the East of Homelife Titus, our Langley/Aldergrove team donated over 285 bags. Not only did they sort all the bags, but they also watched the World Cup match between Canada and Belgium! What a team, right?
Our Surrey team outdid themselves this year, with a 33% increase from last year! Gitansh Jindal and Navraj Kaura from Royal LePage Global Force stated they had made over three trips with their Cadillac Escalade stuffed full of donations!
Fun Fact: A Cadillac Escalade can hold up to 30 bags of donations!
Who could forget our team in Abbotsford? This year they continued their tradition of partnering with Abbotsford’s Mark Work Warehouse. Like previous years, Mark’s Work Warehouse provided amazing clothing deals to support the Blanket Drive to ensure we get the biggest bang for the buck! The Abbotsford team rolled into the store and spent over $4,000 on winter clothing, which they then delivered to local charities.
In South Surrey, Cindy, Dave and Kimberly Walker from Homelife White Rock, and their team filled a hallway full of donations!
To everyone who made this year’s campaign a smashing success, thanks for the memories! If you want to be a part of this amazing cause, and give back to your community, consider volunteering next year. Email vanessa.cheng@fvreb.bc.ca to add your name to the list for the 2023 REALTORS® Care Blanket Drive.