I'm truly in awe of Mr. Kenny Hess.
Kenny and I met a couple of months ago when I went to visit him in his office, unannounced, hoping to speak to him about possibly allowing us, Blanket BC Society, to have a booth for next years Rockin' River Music Fest. He not only asked me to sit down and chat openly, but wanted to know all about Blanket BC. I spoke from my heart about how BBC came to be; giving a blanket to someone in need. Kenny then told me a very personal story, one he recently shared with the amazing fans at R&R this past weekend. His brother Gregory Luke Hess, died on the streets many years ago. Kenny understands completely and intimately what we do is inherently good for our communities. He said to me right then and there, I don't want you next year, I want you this year!
Now, we're a small group of people that help make BBC run. I may do the majority of running around, picking up or dropping off blankets, giving speeches at either schools, business or charity clubs, but I have the most dedicated people assisting me with all the things we need to be a successful running organization.
Kenny helped us along with his most amazing staff. I'd like to take a moment and thank Charlie, Richard, Becca, Martin and Merv! Y'all made it just so easy.
Anyways, this past Saturday night, Kenny insisted that I and some of my Blanketeers join him on stage to introduce the us to the crowd throw out some BBC shirts . What I didn't know, (tissue please) is that Kenny had also intended on announcing that Blanket BC would be the recipient of the 50/50 draw and presented us with $1700 in cash!!! We were caught off guard with his generosity (once again) and this time it floored me. Yes, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and yes, I cried and I ain't gonna change for no one! But I couldn't have felt more humbled and honoured at that moment. I truly mean that.
So on behalf of Blanket BC's executive team and all our Blanketeers, I want to once again thank Kenny from the bottom and tops of our hearts for his kindness, love, generosity and friendship. I hope our friendship continues and that we may be part of a continued tradition the very successful and popular Rockin' River Music Fest!

One more thing...

I would like to personally congratulate Kenny on being inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame as it was announced on Saturday, Aug 9th, 2014. The ceremony will take place in our hometown of Mission, British Columbia at the Clarke Theatre. Congrats Kenny!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Each new year brings additional challenges and without a doubt, our hands-on approach allowed us to quickly direct our limited resources where they were most needed. This year we assisted additional shelters, various housing groups and generally adjusted our program to ensure that we continued to assist our original demographic of people in shelters, on the streets and to those homeless who are virtually unseen. The success we achieve stems from our fundamental dedication, responsiveness and our flexibility in continuously adapting to changing needs of our clientele and our ability to obtain resources to meet the demand on our services on a timely basis.

We have taken steps to strengthen our services with our major campaign in November in addition to a number of small fundraising functions held throughout the year.

With that, Blanket BC’s "Drive on the Line" campaign celebrated its fifth year with records numbers. We collected over 8000 blankets, over 2000 articles of clothing and received over $4500 with our coin boxes. This was all accomplished with the astounding numbers of Blanketeers, nearly 200 strong! I hope this has created a strong measure of satisfaction for all those who participated; as well we have developed a methodology for future growth with limited resources to those who continue to fight at the poverty level.

Since Blanket BC was founded eight and a half years ago, with have collected and distributed approximately 135,000 blankets.

I am confident that our message regarding poverty is being received and understood in communities throughout British Columbia. Our relationship with key donors and our ability to identify essential needs of our clientele are the major factors that have made Blanket BC a recognized leader in Shelter relief.

In closing, I would like to think we ended the year energized, focused and with a strong sense of motivation. Blanket BC is confident that we can provide important services to our clientele even in the current difficult economic environment.

I wish to thank you, our generous and committed donors, volunteers and board members, for your dedication and continued support. With your involvement, we can continue to help thousands of people that face daily challenges against all odds.




Warmest Regards,

Gregory Ould
Founder, Executive Director
Blanket BC Society

Never in the five year history of Blanket BC's "Drive on the Line" campaign has a turnout of volunteers, donations have been so overwhelming. We are still in the midst of counting all the donations up as well, collecting blankets from companies that put on their own organized drives. Even the response from local and national media has been truly amazing. I can tell you this, we have already counted well over 8000 blankets, and nearly 2000 articles of clothing. THAT, and with the help of two amazing Blanketeers, Ambrea (our Volunteer Coordinator) & Katherine (Lead), we have already handed out over 3000 blankets to local shelters. These two ladies really helped with the organization of our Drive, and we couldn't have done it without them! Thank you so much Ambrea & Katherine!

To top off our outpouring of warmth, we can't say enough about the 150+ strong Blanketeers that helped make our Drive on the Line a complete success! The energy from these beautiful men, women and children could provide wamth to a nation! Thank you so much!!!! I'll be writing about our Blanketeers on my next blog.

More to come soon...

Warmest Regards,

Gregory Ould
Founder
Blanket BC

November 7, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
On November 22nd & 23rd, Blanket BC Society will be launching its fifth annual “Drive on the Line” campaign, taking place along the Canada Line. This is a two-day blanket drive where over 100 volunteers* ranging from individuals to families and company teams, will be collecting donations from the public at 8 stations between Waterfront Station to Richmond Brighouse. Donations accepted are: socks, scarves, mittens, toques, and of course - blankets. All donated items will then be divided up and distributed to shelter programs and organizations that work directly with society’s most impoverished individuals and families throughout Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and this year, Vancouver Island. Last years “Drive” successfully collected over 6200 blankets and over 1,000 articles of clothing. Our goal this year: to collect over 10,000 blankets, as the need is overwhelming this time of year. This winter is predicted to be one of the harshest and coldest in decades. Please help today!

About Blanket BC

“I could use a blanket, to survive the night” is the phrase that started it all. After giving one blanket to a homeless man 8 years ago, Blanket BC has grown from a father/son project to an organization that has handed out over 100,000 blankets to date! Our mission is to provide “warmth from the heart” all year long, by collecting blankets and warm items for shelter programs and families in need.

For more information and interview requests, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned. Help make a warm difference, volunteer today! *Sign up now at http://www.blanketbc.org/volunteer.html 

Warmest Regards,
Gregory Ould, Executive Director 
Blanket BC Society 
Email: gregory.ould@blanketbc.org Tel. 778-242-9940
Web: www.blanketbc.org

Blanket BC has been nominated for the "Community Builder Award" from the Mission Chamber of Commerce. This prestigious award will be presented at the 2013 Business Excellence Awards Gala on June 8th. The TOP THREE will be able to go to the awards where they will announce the eventual winner. There are two stages to "win" this award:
 
The first stage is you MUST VOTE ON-LINE! Please click the link to the on-line voting site. http://missionchamber.bc.ca/ ...you may refresh your page and vote as many times as you wish!
Voting ends May 17th, so lets role out a campaign to WIN this prestigious award for all of our BLANKETEERS that have helped our communities!
 
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Also, please "Spread the Word"  to others who you think would help support Blanket BC Society.
 
Thank you for your continued support!