Donations needed for influx of families displaced by wildfires
Multiple charitable organizations in Calgary are urging residents to help with increasing demand for basic goods as the region sees more women and families in need displaced by wildfires raging in British Columbia's interior and Northwest Territories.
Calgary’s Women in Need Society (WINS) is looking for donations of goods, items like clothing, hygiene products and items for children.
WINS is also seeking cash donations, or volunteers to come forward.
United Way of Calgary and area is partnering with the organization in this cause.
"I'm hoping Calgarians rise to the occasion they can donate at any WINS store or at our donation centre, which is very handy (because) you don't have to take it to the hotels. They aren't equipped to take this product," said Karen Ramchuk, president and CEO of WINS.
WINS is also supporting the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) because of the established distribution network.
"Donate cash if you can, donate product if you can, shop our stores, knowing the thrift store you are supporting where your dollars are going, then volunteer your time," added Ramchuk.
ANYTHING HELPS
An estimated 68 per cent of the population of the Northwest Territories is under an evacuation order due to multiple wildfires, with a large proportion headed to Alberta.
The City of Calgary estimates more than 2,700 N.W.T evacuees are in Calgary, staying in 48 different hotels.
"I guess this is where we going to be for a while. They're saying two weeks but we don't know, "said Robert Sterritt, an evacuee from Yelloknife.
He says he left home on short notice, with just a small bag of belongings.
"Any donations will help. Clothes. Toiletries. Anything."
Links to help:
- Donate funds: Monetary donations can be made both in person at any WINS store location and online through the donate funds page;
- Donate goods: Product donations can be dropped off at the donation centre or at any of the six WINS stores located across the city;
- Shop at WINS: When you shop at WINS thrift stores, proceeds fund community programs; and
- Volunteer: To learn more, please visit the volunteer page.
For more information, visit www.winsyyc.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order
Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when provincial fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 10 kilometres (six miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.
A Utah couple accidentally shipped their cat with an Amazon return. A week -- and 3 'miracles' -- later, they were on a plane to meet a stranger
The Amazon returns employee wasn't at work the day one of her colleagues at a California warehouse found a small, furry stowaway in a box mailed six days earlier from Utah. But Brandy Hunter got the call anyway.
Duelling protesters clash at UCLA hours after police clear pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia
Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring others.