Warm Clothing Drive: BEATing the Chill

With the rain and chill brought by a damp BC winter, many people do not have adequate clothing to keep them warm. As one of the many initiatives taking place for Brentwood’s upcoming Kindness Week, the Brentwood Environmental Action Team (BEAT) is facilitating a warm clothing drive to try to make a positive impact in our community.  Last week, BEAT representatives delivered collection boxes to all the boarding houses, asking for donations of sweaters, toques, gloves, jackets, and any other warm clothing. On Thursday, the first collection took place, and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of donations that were received! Beat Captain Hayley F commented that “We filled almost 10 giant garbage bags full of clothes for men, women, and children in need in Duncan!”  Members of the BEAT, under the guidance Ms Richardson, sorted through the clothes in preparation to take them to the Cowichan Valley Basket Society, which will then distribute them to people in need throughout the Cowichan Valley. The CVBS is Duncan’s main food bank, and acts as a support system for hundreds of adults and children in need.  Mrs Sally Burrows, the wife of the late Mr Jim Burrows, a longtime math teacher and rugby coach at Brentwood, has been an avid volunteer at the CVBS for about 20 years. She began as a volunteer and then Hamper Coordinator on the Board as the St Andrew’s Church representative, and has continued to serve in many areas with the society.  On the day that Hayley and Ms Richardson dropped of our donations, Mrs Burrows fondly recalled success stories she has personally witnessed as a result of the support that the CVBS offers. These included anecdotes of a “drug addicted young woman who has cleaned up and is now living a good life with her family” and the “older couple who just don't have enough money to survive, but come in with smiling faces at Christmas with homemade jam to give to others”.  Hayley F agreed that “it was a really great experience...because [she] got to meet the people who the clothes were being distributed to”.   Thank you to everyone who donated, and if you did not get a chance yet, there will be another collection later in February, so the BEAT encourages you to look through your warm clothing and consider donating some of it to keep somebody warm for the remainder of the winter! As Hayley remarked finally, the process “really made [her] realize that we should be doing everything we can as a privileged community to help those in need in the town right up the road”. Mrs Burrows also said “ I have been very blessed in my life, and to give back to the community that I live in is very meaningful for me”. I think that we can all take from that, and practise giving back to our community in the areas that we can!  Sarah R, Mackenzie ‘20