With cold weather and piles of snow just around the corner, the second annual Cochrane Blanket Drive aims to support animals in need by raising donations for animal groups in the community.
Organizer and a realtor with Royal LePage Benchmark, Jana Husmann, said this year’s drive will be done in collaboration with Joni Fergueson, a mortgage broker with Brokers for Life, and Sylvia Penner, the owner of Pet Valu Cochrane.
Following the success of last year’s drive, Husmann said it opened the door for the trio to include a new beneficiary for this year’s initiative.
“We got around three truckloads full of donations, which was amazing,” she said. “So, this year, we decided to extend this a little bit and include the Garcia Rescue into the Blanket Drive.”
Husmann said the Garcia Rescue is located just North of Cochrane on Camden Lane, and are mainly focused on rescuing dogs.
In the same vein as last year’s event, those interested in donating can do so by emailing [email protected] to have their donations picked up from their doorstep on Dec. 2 and 3, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Alternatively, those interested in making a donation in-person can do so by visiting Cochrane’s Pet Valu on 80 Bow Street.
“Winter is coming and we believe that no animal should be outside in the winter,” Husmann said. “The Humane Society and Garcia Rescue are doing so much for animal to provide shelter, medication, food, love, and everything else.”
Since both organizations rely on donations, Husmann said animal care is usually expensive which leads to a heavy need in both animal and shelter goods.
“They’re mostly looking for dog toys, and liquid laundry detergent,” she said. “They’re also looking for clumping and non-clumping cat litter, paper towels, toilet paper, poopy bags, canned tuna and pumpkin, and stuff like that.”
With tremendous support for the community from last years event, Husmann said they cannot thank the community enough. She would also like to extend a special thanks to Two Pharmacy for their generous donation to this year's drive.
She hopes this year's drive will surpass what was raised last year, to better support both groups in the community.
“That is our goal, that we get at least three truckloads full again, or hopefully even a little more because we have two organizations that we donate to,” she said. “So, we’re super excited.”
