Surrey, BC – Each winter, approximately 20,000 homeless people in the Lower Mainland rely on donations of blankets, sleeping bags, coats, toques, gloves and other clothing to stay warm. The REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive is in its 21st year of making a difference. Since 1995, this initiative has assisted more than 300,000 people. Donations can be made at most real estate offices across the Lower Mainland from November 14 to 21, 2016.
Shirley Whitters is one of an army of volunteers who help to make the event possible. This REALTOR® with Sutton - Premier Realty has been involved with the Blanket Drive from the start. She is already hard at work.
Shirley (pictured above) and her daughter Dani, who is also a REALTOR®, have been putting up posters at various organizations to advertise. Once the Blanket Drive is underway, they will pick up bags of donations from their office and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board office, then sort and deliver to charities.
“It saddens me to know that so many less fortunate people can’t afford a home and are forced to live on the streets,” says Shirley. “I think a great number of people are one or two pay cheques away from being on the street. It’s frightening. It’s not just people who are on drugs—that just the stereotype. Sometimes people get ill, lose their jobs and can’t pay their rent. They have fallen on hard times, which could happen to anybody. It makes me feel good that we are able to help in some small way by keeping them warm during the cold weather ahead.”
Shirley is hoping people will look into their closets and donate gently used blankets, sleeping bags, warm coats, clothing, boots, toques and mitts. Cash donations are accepted and are typically used to purchase new socks and underwear.
For a complete list of drop-off locations throughout the Lower Mainland, please visit http://www.rebgv.org/blanket-drive-drop-locations-0 or www.blanketdrive.ca.
The next project for Sutton - Premier Realty is delivering holiday joy to local families. Each year, they sponsor several families through the Surrey Christmas Bureau.
Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 9,000 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.
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Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:
Sandra Vujatovic
604-691-1655
Sutton - Premier Realty Contact:
Shirley Whitters
604-581-8400
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