In November 2014, individual REALTORS® and over 100 real estate offices across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia participated in the 2014 REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive by collecting blankets and warm clothing for the homeless in their communities.
The effort is led by REALTORS®, who volunteer their time each fall, in collaboration with their three local real estate Boards – the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board.
The story of the Blanket Drive begins back in 1995, when a group of REALTORS® called on their colleagues to gather blankets to help the homeless in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. This altruistic act inspired a local tradition, which had expanded to cover the entire Lower Mainland by 2006.
If you do the math, you’ll realize that the Blanket Drive hit a very special milestone this year. It has now been bringing warmth to those in need for 20 years! According to its organizers, more than 41,000 bags of donations have been collected and over 250,000 people have benefitted over the past two decades.
“I’m proud of my profession and honoured to be part of a program spearheaded by REALTORS® that addresses the needs of those who are less fortunate in our communities,” says Sing Yeo, REALTOR® and long-time Blanket Drive volunteer. “I’ve participated in this campaign for many years and have watched it steadily grow. One of the most significant factors of the Blanket Drive is the ability to see the immediate effect you can make in someone’s life by providing them with something as simple as a warm blanket.”
Pictured (left to right): REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive volunteers Doc Livingston, Laura-Leah Shaw, Patricia Yeo, Sing Yeo, and Susan Upton.
This blog post originally appeared on CREA Café, the official blog of The Canadian Real Estate Association, and has been adapted with permission.
