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Union Gospel Mission has seen the effects severe cold weather has on Winnipeg’s vulnerable population, and because of this, they are running a school mitt drive.
“We see a lot of people who are very transient,” says Justin Lange, a staff member at UGM. “When it’s freezing like this, suddenly life becomes extremely difficult when it comes to getting anywhere safely. Because you literally can’t be outside for minutes without getting frostbite.”
The need for any winter gear to cover extremities, such as toques, mittens, scarves, and boots, are needed right now. The weekend forecast in Winnipeg is showing lows in the -40s with windchill.
“People come to our doors often without things like mitts, hats, or even without enough clothes at all. It’s unbelievable. No shoes sometimes. It’s very sad because we’ve had people come to us who have already lost fingers or toes.”
Each day, UGM opens their doors to the public for a meal, as well as their drop in centre to warm up.
“Yesterday, on the first real cold day that we had, we had someone come in with frostbite,” says Munya Rusere, who helps run the clothing department at UGM. “The staff and volunteers were tending to the gentleman. We did have enough stuff here to serve him, but you can see how dangerous it can get.”
School Mitt Drive
Always in need of proper winter gear, UGM is hosting a school mitt drive in Winnipeg over the month of February.
“We looked at our numbers every day of how many people are coming in and looking for gloves, mitts, and shoes,” says Rusere. “We started off with a drive for churches and we got lots of support in that way. Then we thought, wait a minute, we’ve got so many Christian schools that are around. In December, we had a mitt donation from Steinbach Christian School. That led to the idea of saying, how can we involve more schools to partner with us.”
According to UGM, the best type of winter wear for hands to donate is mitts rather than gloves with individual finger coverings. They prefer large women’s and men’s mittens.
“The idea is that as they donate, they can pray for the people who are receiving the mitts and the gloves. We do more than just give them the warm gloves, but we share the love of Christ with them also.”
Schools interested in participating in the mitt drive this February can reach out directly to UGM by phone or on their website. As the temperature is extremely cold this weekend, anyone who wants to donate winter wear already is much appreciated by the team.
“People can drop off donations at 320 Princess Street,” says Lange. “The big blue doors at the front, you can come to. Ring the doorbell, there’s always going to be somebody there. But generally before 8 p.m. is best.”
