CBC Yukon kicks off annual sock and mitten donation drive
CBC Yukon kicked off its annual sock and mitten drive in Whitehorse this week, and it launched a new sock drive in Dawson City this year.
People can bring warm socks and mittens to the drop-off box outside the CBC entrance on 3rd Avenue in downtown Whitehorse.
All donations from the Whitehorse drive goes to the OutreachVan.
Blood Ties Four Directions, a Whitehorse-based non-profit that offers harm reduction and other services to the city's vulnerable, is among the OutreachVan partners. The organization's executive director, Brontë Renwick-Shields, said though the donation seems simple, it can have a big impact on people's day to day lives.
"Warm socks and mitts are go a long way to making someone more comfortable," she said. "We're talking about people who might be spending long periods of time outside in what we know is cold climate."
Only new socks and clean mittens in good condition are accepted.
In Dawson City, socks and mittens will go to the Dawson Women's Shelter. They can be dropped off at the community library in the school.
Crickett Wilder, the program co-ordinator at the shelter, said snowpants in all sizes, including extra large sizes, would also be welcome.
Wilder said the shelter is more than just an emergency place for women, kids and folks of other marginalized genders who are leaving violence, but it's also a homeless shelter for the same group.
On top of that, it has drop-in showers and laundry, a 24-hour call-in support line, in-person support from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and it offers an educational program about preventing homelessness and violence.
"We're so much more than a bed, we're a place of safety," she said.
"Violence can be so isolating, so we really try to think about other ways, other than that essential emergency bed … to provide moments of connection and breaking isolation for folks in our town."
Wilder said having warm socks and mittens on hand "makes a huge difference" for the shelter's aim to be a welcoming place. The shelter needs socks and mittens for all age groups.
