Francophone students are looking for some extra underwear.
There are 18 students from Collège Boréal, École secondaire catholique Thériault and École publique Renaissance teaming up to collect underwear for Living Space to provide those in need with this essential clothing item.
Michel Mainville, the co-ordinator of the Collège Boréal humanitarian project, said that Living Space told them there was a need.
“They mentioned that they have a problem, and the problem was that they didn’t have any underwear,” said Mainville. “So I said, you leave that with me and we’ll see what we can do.”
Lisa Tremblay, the engagement and education co-ordinator for Living Space, said she was excited by the idea of the drive.
"It's just so different and the idea is brilliant," she said. "Kudos to the school and the student for co-ordinating that, and growing the program throughout the region."
The fundraiser began several years ago at Collège Boréal and has expanded to include Collège Boréal’s other Northern Ontario campuses.
The Timmins collections will benefit Living Space and in Sudbury donations are for Rock Haven.
This year’s drive has an additional incentive for those looking to donate.
They have teamed up with BMT Insurance and Financial Services Inc. to purchase a television worth $600 as a prize for the draw.
“Everyone who donates a pack of underwear all over northeastern Ontario will get a ticket for the draw,” said Mainville.
The draw will take place on March 10 at 2 p.m. at Collège Boréal.
The humanitarian program at Collège Boréal involves both local and international volunteer work.
The students are going to Guatemala to build houses and help out in a hospital for malnourished children as part of the program. They leave for the trip at the end of April.
“We try to do some volunteer work within the community with various organizations to give back to the community,” said Mainville. “We’ve already got a couple of shopping bags full of underwear.”
At Living Space, the fundraiser will help provide comfort to clients.
"When they come in for a shower, they oftentimes don't have any clean clothes or underwear, so with these drives, we can provide them with these basic needs," she said. "And as Michel put it, no one should have to go commando!"
The underwear will be part of a care package for those moving into housing at the shelter and those coming in for showers. Tremblay said they always need more.
"In the winter, we're a lot busier and we do have a lot more foot traffic, so the demand is up," she said, and things like underwear and socks are always welcome donations, as well as food donations.
They have mostly looking for men’s underwear as there tends to be more demand for those, said Tremblay, but any underwear is welcome.
“People will donate clothes but underwear is not typically donated, so it’s often an issue to find clean underwear,” said Mainville.
Donations can be dropped off at the reception desk at Collège Boréal until Feb. 25.
