By 5:15am on October 12, 2018, people were already lined up for the 13th annual Thanksgiving Food and Clothing Drive being held at Southland Church in Steinbach.
“Over 3,000 people attended the event this year and we were thrilled to give away over 1,400 food hampers,” co-organizer Grace Hiebert stated. “Every year, I tear up as I see the smiles on people’s faces and know that we were able to make a difference in their lives.”
Approximately 35,000 lbs of clothing, shoes, toys, bedding, and household items were given away in addition to approximately 15,000 lbs of food, mostly donated by attendees of Southland Church.
This was the 13th annual Food and Clothing Drive for the local church and involved over 1,200 volunteers. “It was great to see high school students, young married couples and others putting together the food hampers and unloading the trailers of clothing and household goods,” Hiebert said. “We also had students from the Steinbach Christian Elementary School volunteer. They put together over 1,000 bags of fresh vegetables to go in the hampers. The event is run totally by volunteers of all ages including many seniors who helped sort the clothing. Our goal is to show love to one another as God has loved us. We want the community to know that we care.”
Hiebert noted that most people who attended the event came from Steinbach and the surrounding area, with a few coming from Winnipeg and other communities in Manitoba including Winkler and The Pas.
The 14th annual Food and Clothing Drive is scheduled to be held on October 18th, 2019, at Southland Church in Steinbach.
