Two special events are coming up at Canadian Tire in Williams Lake to collect donations for Sosua, Dominican Republic, Williams Lake’s sister city since 2007.
Collection days will be held at Canadian Tire this Saturday, Sept. 22 and again on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, says event organizer Glen Lahey. The goal is to fill a container with help for Sosua’s poorest people.
Medical equipment donated earlier by two lakecity dentists to establish a dental clinic in Sosua and other used medical equipment donated by Deni House will fill about a third of the container, Lahey says.
He is looking for donations from the community to fill the rest of the container.
Suggested donations include the following new or gently used items.
• Sporting equipment and uniforms for baseball, soccer, and basketball, school supplies, children’s books, toys, dolls and stuffed animals, musical instruments, teaching aids, arts and craft supplies, and global maps.
• Household items such as sewing machines, fabric and accessories, bedding, blankets, drapes, small lamps, pots, pans, cups, cutlery, etc.
• Personal care items such as prescription medication, reading and sunglasses, over-the-counter medicine, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, hair accessories, diapers and baby clothes.
• All medical supplies and equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, and canes.
• Electronic items such as working computers, monitors, keyboards, laptops, DVD players, tape recorders, AC and DC radios, and microwaves.
Lahey says they hope to have the container filled and shipped off to Sosua by November then have a group of 15 to 30 people from Williams Lake join him toward the end of January 2013 on a trip to Sosua to personally deliver the donations to hospitals, clinics, schools and orphanages in the Sosua area.
People who are not able to make the drop-off events at Canadian Tire can also drop off items at Chuck’s Auto Supply.
For more information call Glen or Deb at 250-398-8050.