Langley schools donated a total of 16,430 lbs of clothes on Friday, Oct. 27.
The one-day clothing drive was an inordinate second collection event this year by the Langley Township Firefighters Charitable Society (LTFCS), which holds a drive annually in May.
In partnership with Odyssey International and the Langley School District Foundation, the society and local firefighters were able to make a second Kids Helping Kids clothing drive happen.
“All the clothing is sent to Odyssey and they give us a donation by weight… that money goes towards augmenting our programming,” explained Cptn. Jason Hodge, co-director of the LTFCS.
Odyssey parked a trailer at the Brookswood firehall early that morning, and once it was loaded with the donations Odyssey took the trailer and sorted the clothes.
Odyssey is a second-hand store based in New Westminster and ships used clothing to Africa, Asia, and South America.
“The snack program benefits all kids in schools because it gives them the opportunity to have food which they may not have had that day,” Hodge said, noting the program is currently in about a dozen local schools.
Donated clothing was measured by weight and by population of the school.
“For instance, a high school with a greater population has to give us a greater amount of donations… It’s based on student capacity to the weight – a ratio,” he said.
Of the 14 schools that participated, the one that donated the most clothes wins a barbecue lunch served by the Township firefighters.
Drop off your donations to any of these schools:
— Langley School District Foundation (@SD35Foundation) October 26, 2023
🍎 Uplands
🍏 Douglas Park
🍎 James Kennedy
🍏 Alex Hope
🍎 DW Poppy
🍏 Yorkson Creek
🍎 ACSS
🍏 Coghlan Fundamental
🍎 Noel Booth
🍏 West Langley
🍎 Topham Elementary
🍏 HD Stafford
🍎 Richard Bulpitt
🍏 Peterson Road pic.twitter.com/jaEMCELlma
The society also has clothing donation bins at three firehall locations, with plans to add more soon.
“The support we receive from the community with this clothing makes all the difference,” said Zach Funk, co-director of the LTFCS.
Clothing bins for year-round donations are located at:
- 20253 72nd Ave.
- 22170 50th Ave.
- 9580 208th St.
All funds raised from these bins support burn survivors from around the province.
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