About 57,000 Fort McMurray wildfire evacuees have received services from the Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society since being forced from their homes nearly three weeks ago.
Nicole Geoffroy with the EERSS said volunteers at the designated donation pick-up site, which has been set up at Kingsway Mall, have seen a steady stream of evacuees coming through the doors.
Officials want to make sure all evacuees have the chance to stop by once to get the things they need before they allow people to come by for a second time.
“Right now we are still seeing a need for first-time individuals and families coming in and receiving what we have,” Geoffroy said.
“We are in the middle of working towards a specific date and hopefully opening up our doors again for a second time, but we do still want to make sure the focus is on for the families that haven’t gotten everything they need yet, or for the families that haven’t even come in yet for a first time.”
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Evacuees who weren’t able to get everything they needed the first time around because an item was out of stock are allowed to go back to get those items, but they must bring their checklist with them.
The drop-off centre, located at 3870-98 St., is still in need of donations. The top five most-needed items as of Sunday afternoon are:
- Clothing for girls and boys aged 3-17
- Men’s clothing
- Towels and face cloths
- Shoes
- Pillows
READ MORE: New site opens in Edmonton for Fort McMurray donation drop-off
The EERSS has also seen about 16,000 people come in to volunteer at the donation drop-off and pick-up sites, and are constantly looking for volunteers. To sign up for shifts, visit the EERSS website.
The EERSS pick-up and drop-off sites will be closed on Monday to give the volunteers a break. They will both reopen Tuesday morning.
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