Saskatoon donation centres prepare for refugee arrival

The province doesn’t know when Syrian refugees will make their way west, but Saskatoon groups are still doing everything they can to prepare for their arrival.

The Saskatoon Open Door Society is hosting multiple donation days across the city.

Donations streamed into College Park Covenant Church on Tuesday. In the church’s basement storage room, bags and boxes were piled on top of one another in a mass that nearly reached the ceiling.

“We’re trying to squeeze in some other spaces in the building to store some more things,” pastor Kirsten Waldschmidt said.

“When we knew that refugees were going to be arriving, we just wondered what our part may be,” she added.

The church hosts a monthly clothing depot so catering to refugees seemed like a natural fit.
 
“We sort of have a bit of a system in place with the clothing depot, it was just a really great opportunity,” Waldschmidt said.
 
As refugees start to arrive, the church will host extra depot days and their basement will be transformed into rooms for men’s and women’s clothing and small household items.

December Saskatoon Open Door Society donation days:

College Park Covenant Church (909 Acadia Drive)

-Sunday Dec. 20 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
 
Bay 104 (2834 Miller Avenue)

-Wednesday Dec. 16 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
-Friday Dec. 18 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
-Saturday Dec. 19 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
-Tuesday Dec. 22 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.