CLWR collects, ships sweaters for Syrian refugees

CLWR’s Lyn Stienstra, Isaac Katoyo, Jenny Steinke, Cody Cleave, Tyler Gingrich and Patrick Stewart pose in front of the loaded container.

WINNIPEG – On November 29, Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) dispatched its first shipment of sweaters for Syrian refugees living in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. The first shipment contained 22,508 sweaters, 1,707 pneumonia vests, 1,300 toys, and 60 soccer balls—an achievement made possible due to the hard work of dozens of volunteers from Winnipeg and surrounding area who sorted, folded, boxed, and loaded thousands of sweaters over a period of a few days in November.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief estimates it received somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 sweaters from people all over Canada during its sweater drive. While one shipment is away, there’s much more work to be done. Now, CLWR is preparing to send a second shipment of sweaters on December 20. The organization is again seeking volunteers to make this work possible. Volunteer shifts run for three hours, and will take place December 17-20. Those wishing to assist in preparing sweaters for shipment can contact Tyler Gingrich at tyler@clwr.mb.ca or (204) 631-0509, or Patrick Stewart at patrick@clwr.mb.ca or (204) 631-0112.

Watch footage of the first shipment being loaded below.