Nova Scotia’s winter is no joke and without the proper clothing, the temperatures can be dangerous.
That’s why the Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank held their third annual winter coat drive on Tuesday, with the goal of providing warm clothing for those need them.
“A lot of people don’t understand how cold it can get in Halifax so hopefully we can bridge that gap a little bit,” says Operations Director Chris Uren.
Many of the recipients were newcomers to the province, including 35-year-old Abid Kashani.
Kashani came to Nova Scotia as a refugee. He fled his native country, Pakistan, several months ago. He is currently living in a hotel and says he hardly has any clothing.
“We are so thankful to them (Parker Street Food Bank). They are helping us and all of them are refugees. They don’t have anything, and they were in trouble,” he says, referring to several Afghan families who are staying at the same hotel as Kashani.
According to Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank, seven pallets of clothing were donated, including hats, gloves, snow pants and boots. Jacqueline Rogers, who is a volunteer and helped coordinate the coat drive, says that may have not been enough.
“With inflation, like with most of our programs we’ve been seeing about a 30-per cent increase in demand, so it was the same with our back-to-school program and other events. Last year, we did 157 coats and this year we can expect at least 200 to 250 will be given out,” she says.
Filipina newcomer Rona Guanzon arrived in Halifax in August with her husband and two small children.
The family lived in Pakistan for the last several years but have decided to start anew in Canada. She says the coat drive was a “big help” for her family.
“The impact that you have on people that you’re helping is very, very big,” says Guanzon.
Many of the children were full of smiles, as they expressed excitement selecting new clothing for the cold season.
“A lot of excitement has been about the hand-knitted donations that we’ve gotten. So, a lot of donors have knitted hats, scarfs, socks to donate so people really appreciate that sort of thing. You know, you can feel the love. It was made with love,” says Rogers.
Parker Street Food Bank will continue to collect gently-used winter clothing as more donations are encouraged.