VANCOUVER – Contemporary furniture and accessory retailer Urban Barn has donated some 15,000 blankets to 33 shelters across Canada with the successful conclusion of its sixth annual Blanket the Country in Warmth initiative.
From October 5 to November 5, Urban Barn collected $5 donations from its customers both in-store and online at www.BlankettheCountry.com. With their help, the privately-held company said it exceeded its blanket donation goal of 15,000 and will confirm a final count over the coming weeks.
In the six years the campaign has been active, the campaign has achieved much more than its donation numbers, she added. It has rallied Canadians to show community support and spread warmth, donating more than 73,000 blankets since 2012. For the second year in a row, the program gave Canadians another way to spread warmth through the option of adding a 'warm wish' on its web site as well as on social media by tagging @UrbanBarn and #BlankettheCountry.
To date, more than 150 warm wishes have been shared as a part of the campaign.
In 2016, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness estimated that 35,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night and at least 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness in a year.
Founded in 1990 and owned by Stern Partners, a private equity group based here, Urban Barn currently operates 52 stores from British Columbia to Quebec.