Blanket Drive is Underway for Haywood & Jackson County Households in Need

For Immediate Release, October 16, 2024
Re: Mountain Projects and Rotary Blanket Drive

WAYNESVILLE & SYLVA, NC – The annual Community Blanket Drive is underway! An initiative between Mountain Projects in partnership with the Waynesville Rotary Club, has expanded to include numerous civic organizations, local banks, credit unions and the community.

“There are individuals and families in our community living without heat in their homes,” says Mountain Projects Executive Director, Patsy Davis, “We are collecting donations to support this serious need.”

Blanket donations are being accepted at 2177 Asheville Road in Waynesville and 154-B Medical Park Loop in Sylva. Monetary donations towards heating bills can be made online at MountainProjects.org/heatingassistance.

For several years, the Waynesville Rotary Club held a successful blanket drive during the holiday season, with donations going to the Mountain Projects to help families afford emergency needs like utility bills. In recent years, the Rotary Club invited other service organizations, including Altrusa, Kiwanis, Lions Club of Canton, Lions Club of Clyde, and two additional Rotary Clubs, Haywood County and Sunrise, to help increase participation. Last year, the event was renamed the “Community Blanket Drive.”

The 2024 Blanket Drive is in progress. There are three ways to contribute:
1. Purchase blankets and deliver them to local clubs or participating institutions, which will distribute them to Mountain Projects.
2. Haywood County blankets can be delivered directly to Mountain Projects at 2177 Asheville Road in Waynesville, across from Junaluska Elementary School.
3. Jackson County blankets can be delivered to 154-B Medical Park Loop in Sylva, located on the Harris Regional Hospital campus.
4. Order blankets through Amazon and ship them directly to Mountain Projects. Donors are asked to include their organization’s name in the address. The Amazon link below is provided to facilitate donations of blankets and children’s coats. The link is: https://amzn.to/3YeZFOs.

Please contact Bronwen Talley-Coffey, 2024-2025 President of Waynesville Rotary Club, with questions regarding Amazon purchases. (828)550-8350 or [email protected]. All items can be shipped to Mountain Projects at 2177 Asheville Road, Waynesville, NC 28786-3139. Office hours are 7:30 am until 5:30 pm, Monday through Thursday.

For other information, contact Bill Allsbrook of the Waynesville Rotary Club at 828-734-4536 or Patsy Davis at 828-452-1447.

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