Calgary Drop-In Centre residents thankful for full bellies, warm feet

CALGARY – Dozens of volunteers joined some of Calgary’s most vulnerable citizens this Thanksgiving, handing out traditional meals and winter socks.

The feast is an annual tradition for employees from Calgary company Stuart Olsen and their families.

This year, a newly-formed group of volunteers, ladies who “Work Together for Fun” (WTFF) are also in the mix – initiating a sock drive ahead of the cold winter months.

“Personally I got a lot of socks from the Calgary Police Service. A lot of officers were willing to donate those beautiful thick black socks, because I know they have so many of them,” said WTFF founder Sondra Baker.

Volunteers as young as six years old crowded the cafeteria of the Drop-In Centre Monday, hand-delivering about 2,000 socks to Calgary’s homeless.

“I look around and I see people asking for a second pair and I hand it to them because I know their feet are a lot colder than mine,” said 16-year-old Dean LeMay. His father, David LeMay, is thepresident and CEO of Stuart Olsen.

“It’s important that we’re giving back all the time, but certainly in these challenging times it’s very important that we remember what we have to give.”

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Calgary philanthropist and businessman Alfred Balm has sponsored the Drop-In Centre’s Thanksgiving dinner for over a decade.

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