KPU clothing drive donates to Atira Women’s Resource Society

🔊 Listen to Post

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Assessment and Testing Services (ATS) is holding a winter clothing drive to donate to Atira Women’s Resource Society until Nov. 29. The society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping women and children who are subjected to violence. 

“It’s important for KPU to support anybody they can in their community. Our team is really big about that,” says Catherine Siermacheski, manager of the ATS at KPU. 

“We know that there are other organizations in the community, but in order for us to be strong community supporters, we feel that it’s important [to organize clothing drives].” 

The clothing drive idea was suggested by a staff member last year and the ATS decided to donate to Atira Women’s Resource Society due to the organization’s values.  

“We were looking around and thinking we normally get together for a Christmas or a holiday event. We all recognized how lucky and privileged we were during COVID to be still working and healthy, and decided we needed to find somewhere that we could help,” Siermacheski says. 

Despite the apprehensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ATS donated over 18 boxes to the society last year. 

The donations are delivered to women through a program called Bette’s Boutique located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which offers women free access to shop for clothing, household items, kids’ toys, and food hampers. The Boutique has created an environment where women can feel safe, access supportive resources such as counselling and legal services, and have a sense of community.  

“All the donations are received at [Bette’s Boutique] and then … people in the community can go to the boutique and access free clothing and services,” says Mary Yak, department coordinator, communications and funds development at Atira Women’s Resource Society. 

“We cannot pick up donations, we can only receive them because we don’t have the capacity to pick things up. We have more than 35 housing programs, we also send some of the donations to these programs in all of Mainland Vancouver,” Yak says. 

They have a range of programs to help women such as family care, health and wellbeing, outreach, education, resources, and employment initiatives. Yak says that all donations are beneficial to the programs. 

“We have a supply shortage right now, so we are not receiving a lot, probably not more than the previous years. A lot of people have gone unemployed, so they can’t do all the drives that they used to do,” she says. 

“People are losing their jobs, their homes, they don’t have the means to be able to afford things or access our program. Definitely, I would say COVID has had a major impact on the entire society.” 

Atira also helps women struggling with substance use and mental well-being. The society has housed 1,500 women and children including transgender women, two-spirit, intersex folks, and those who identify with a “femme of centre non-binary gender,” according to their website. 

“Atira Women’s Resource Society focuses on women and children fleeing violence. As we all know, [due to] the impact COVID had on people there have been more than average cases of violence that people have experienced in addition to losing their homes,” Yak says.  

“Do your research and help those that are around you, because you never know if that could be you. There are different types of programs and ways to help.” 

Students who want to donate winter clothing to the drive can drop off clean, new, or gently used items at the ATS Test Centres located in Fir 118 on the Surrey campus, 2090 on the Richmond campus, 1655 in the East Building of the Langley campus, or on the eighth floor of the Civic Plaza campus. For students who can’t make it to campus, Atira has partnered with Amazon to buy items online and ship them directly to the society’s location.