More than 1,000 bags of warm clothing and blankets were collected from Nov. 16 to Nov. 23 as part of the 21st annual Realtors Care Blanket Drive.
The donations will help an estimated 5,000 working poor and homeless in Mission, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, North Delta and White Rock.
The donations were collected at 35 real estate offices across the Fraser Valley, sorted by 47 volunteers and delivered directly to 22 local charities.
One of the hallmarks of the Blanket Drive is that all donations remain in the communities in which they were collected. Many recipient charities rely on donations from the Blanket Drive to help them through the winter.
In Mission, realtors collected 45 bags of warm clothing and blankets, which will help approximately 275 individuals.
Donations were distributed to Lydia Home, Hope Central Ministry, Mission Community Services, Mission Friendship Centre and Mission Youth House.
While the volume of donations collected this year in the Fraser Valley was less than previous years, realtor volunteers noticed that the quality of the donations was much better.