The annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive in the Fraser Valley is being held in a different way this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, local realtors are asking the public to make cash donations until Nov. 27 in lieu of donating blankets and warm clothing.
The goal of raising $15,000 among the 26 blanket-drive recipient charities has already been surpassed.
In a traditional year, the more than 18,000 realtors in the region work with their clients and a network of charitable organizations in every Lower Mainland community to collect and distribute blankets and lightly used clothing. The donations help more than 35,000 residents stay warm during the winter months.
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The 26-year-old blanket drive campaign is a partnership among the Lower Mainland’s three real estate boards – the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board.
Many local charities aren’t accepting clothing and blanket donations this year, but FVREB president Chris Shields said the pandemic has made life even harder for the most vulnerable.
“Our Blanket Drive charities have seen their donations drop, and they need our support today more than ever,” Shields said.
In South Surrey and White Rock, the drive supports:
• Avalon Recovery Society
• Bill Reid Place (part of Options Community Service)
• Extreme Weather Shelter (part of Peninsula United Church)
• The Launching Pad Addiction Rehabilitation Society
• Sources Women’s Place
• Sources White Rock/South Surrey Food Bank
• Sources Community Resource Centre
• Atira Women’s Resource Centre
Donations can be made at my.charitableimpact.com/campaigns/realtors-care-blanket-drive.