Moncton groups overwhelmed with support for Syrian refugees

MONCTON – Charity groups collecting items to help Syrian refugees headed to the City of Moncton say they have been overwhelmed by local support.

Deo Cuma runs the House of Nazareth homeless shelter. The shelter is also taking the lead to store donations for Syrian refugees and other people in need.

Cuma said community giving has been so great they’ve been able to fill large spaces like the back of a truck in less than a day.

“Great! The community has been responding, it’s incredible,” he said.

There’s no word yet on when the refugees will arrive in the city. But despite the lack of information, other groups say they’ve had more toy donations related to the refugees’ arrival.

Nadine Lipton runs Blankets for Moncton, a not-for-profit organization that collects clothing and other supplies for people in need.

She said they have more toys than normal this year.

“We have more toys coming in for children coming in from Syria,” she said. “We had two large donations from single groups and one from a single couple and there’s probably 300 toys that we have.”