On November 5th our Edmonton chapter embarked on a food & winter coat drive to support local food banks and Coats for Kids & Families, a United Way program that provides winter wear for those who can’t afford it themselves.
Over 60 adults and children took part in delivering flyers requesting donations earlier in the week and then returned on Saturday morning to collect those donations provided in response. There were over 462 articles of winter clothing and boots donated, as well as over 400 dry food items donated for the food banks. This year alone Edmonton has seen an enormous increase in families accessing food banks services; due to the economy & job lay offs. By March 2016 they had over 20,000 people use their services to meet the needs of their families. This is a 31% increase from previous years. United Way’s Coats for Kids & Families was created in 2003 out of a great need for winter wear by families with limited resources. In 2015 they distributed 7,790 coats to the community.
The HOPE worldwide Canada Edmonton chapter volunteers were grateful to take part in serving these two programs that are so desperately needed in the community and plan to see this become an annual event increasing in numbers and donations yearly.
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