A clothing drive designed to give unwanted clothing a new lease on life and support a local organization is set to take place later this month.
On June 18, the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island will be hosting the inaugural Island Savings Big Give Clothing Drive at its Northfield Road location. The clothing drive will give individuals the opportunity to donate any unneeded clothing to the non-profit organization.
The event, which takes place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., will include face painting, games, free hotdogs and snacks. Those who donate garbage bags full of clothing have the chance to win a number of prizes such as a Tim Hortons coffee marker and a BCAA one-year membership.
Jennifer Kemp, resource coordinator with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island, said donated clothing can be sold in bulk to wholesalers.
“If we can get people to bring clothes … we can turn those clothes into dollars,” Kemp said. “It’s an easier ask. It’s a program that is existing and we already have a source that we can sell the clothes to.”
The Saturday event will be an opportunity for the organization to showcase its relatively new location on 2030 Northfield Rd., which it moved into last year. The new location also serves as a used clothing store.
One of the programs that will benefit from donated clothing sales is the in-school mentoring program, which takes place in eight schools throughout Nanaimo. According to Kemp, the program costs around $2,000 per school to operate each year.
“If we can collect more clothes then we can get more dollars,” Kemp said.
For more information, please call 250-756-2447.