Realtors Care Blanket Drive will have an online and in-person presence this year

Realtors in Maple Ridge will be joining their counterparts across the Lower Mainland, in a campaign to help people in need this winter.

The 27th annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive, which will start on Nov. 15 and go on until Nov. 22, will have both, an online presence as well as in-person donations, unlike last year when the in-person fundraiser had to be cancelled due to COVID, said Justin Hennessey, who is in-charge of the program in Maple Ridge.

“This is a collective volunteer effort from local Maple Ridge Real Estate offices to help local charities provide for people in need. Last year was just online donations. This year, there is an online fundraiser, as well as the physical donations that we are able to go back to,” he said.

In a traditional year, the more than 18,000 Realtors in the region would work with their clients and a network of charitable organizations in every Lower Mainland community to collect and distribute blankets and lightly used clothing to help more than 35,000 residents stay warm during the winter months.

The easing of some pandemic restrictions has prompted organizers to safely resume the campaign, as well as continue with the successful online fundraising effort first held in 2020.

“With Covid restrictions, and some families still being affected by employment due to the pandemic we feel are donation efforts are more important then ever. We are also happy to have this donation model where people can donate online , as well as with clothing donations for people in need in the local community,” Hennessey added.

The online monetary donation portal at https://www.rebgv.org/about-us/our-communities/realtors-care—blanket-drive.html also has information on drop-off points, including the four Maple Ridge locations.

ALSO READ: Housing market still favours sellers in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows

“For physical donations we are looking for warm clothing for adults, coats, blankets, new socks and underwear. This year, we hope to achieve or surpass up to the 250 bags of donations from previous years,” said Hennessey.

The donation drive 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, and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, and is Lower Mainland’s largest and longest running blanket drive.

“The effects of the pandemic continue to impact those in our communities who are most vulnerable, and the Blanket Drive gives us all opportunities to do our part to help fulfill a great need,” Larry Anderson, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president said. “Our members and volunteers take personal pride in being part of a collective effort, knowing their donations make a real and human impact in the community.”

For a complete list of donation drop-off across the Lower Mainland, people can also visit: www.facebook.com/BlanketDrive.

ALSO READ: Increase in organ donors a breath of fresh air for B.C. lung transplant recipients