A second load of donated items was readied to be taken to the YWCA for distribution to those in need. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Holiday giving

Holiday fundraiser wraps up 17th year

Jan 7, 2025 | 4:20 PM

A large pile of warm clothing, blankets, mittens and other items are once again on their way to the YWCA who then distributes it to the Stepping Stones Shelter and other locations.

Wrapped up For the Holidays is a long-running initiative of Parkland Ambulance, Gateway Mall, Anderson Motors and CTV. The volume of donations grows every year.

“Sharon (Faul) and I talk on the phone all the time and we go back and forth and she says the bins full,” explained Lyle Karasiuk of Parkland Ambulance. “And I say, well, what are we going to do with it? And she says, the bin’s full again. So we just keep piling it up and it just, it just piles up.”

Lyle Karsiuk, Sharon Faul and Nathan Jones with just a portion of the donations collected this year. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

For weeks donations of goods have been collected in several locations and will now help warm those who cannot afford to buy the items themselves.

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Donation booths are located in the mall for convenience and Anderson Motors also collects them at their dealership.

“We’re happy to be a convenient location for them to drop that stuff off. It’s greatly needed in our community and we’re happy to be a part of it,” said Faul, the General Manager at Gateway Mall.

When the holidays have wrapped up, the items are all brought to Parkland Ambulance where they are loaded onto a vehicle and transported to their destinations.

When they first began the initiative, it was limited to blanket donations but people began asking about donating other warm items, so it grew.

While most of the donations start coming in the fall, people doing spring cleaning often find items they want to donate as well so things could collect year-round. They normally try to direct people to other local charities or places that will use the items.

Nathan Jones of Anderson Motors said the idea is to make it more convenient for people to donate their items.

“It’s just making it easier for people to donate, not having to make those phone calls,” he said. “It’s just making it easier to get things where they need to go.”

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com