Emergency Sweater Drive for Syrian refugees

Donations of new and gently used sweaters urgently requested

Do you have some extra sweaters taking up space in your closet? See that they get put to good use by donating them to a man, woman or child in need of warmth this winter.

As the devastation of the Syrian civil war continues to unfold, refugees living at the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan are bracing themselves for another harsh winter. A housing shortage, lack of appropriate clothing and a dem

anding climate can make life extremely difficult for families who have fled the violence. At the request of our partner agencies, CLWR will be dispatching a second shipment to support Syrian refugees living in Jordan, and we need your help.

Our goal is to gather 10,000+ new or gently used sweaters this fall and dispatch them in time for winter. Sweaters of all sizes are needed, for men, women and children.

IMPORTANT! How to collect and send us the sweaters

Can I send other pieces of clothing other than sweaters?

Unfortunately, no. Please only send new or gently used sweaters - this is so everyone who is served by this distribution receives the same thing. Sweaters can be any size.

Who will be collecting the donations in my community?

Any Lutheran congregation can get involved! You can designate one or two people from your congregation who are willing to take the lead in collecting the sweaters. If your congregation will not be participating but you'd still like to donate, please contact Patrick Stewart (CLWR We Care program coordinator) at patrick@clwr.mb.ca or 1.800.661.2597 (locally at 204.694.5602) and we'll see that other arrangements are made.

I'm taking the lead in collecting and shipping sweater donations in my Lutheran congregation/community. What do I need to do?

Set a deadline for sweater drop-offs. This should be no later than October 27, to give you time to box and label them for shipping. All boxes must be labelled and in transit to the CLWR Winnipeg warehouse by October 31. If you can send them earlier that would be really helpful for our warehouse staff and volunteers! That will save them from receiving everything all at once.

Shipping labels can be downloaded here.

How do I ship the boxes to you?

If you're in the Winnipeg area, you can drop off your sweaters at the warehouse, located at 549 King Edward Street, Winnipeg, MB R3H 0N9. See a Google map byclicking here. The warehouse is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can give us a call ahead of time to let us know you're coming, especially if you will be bringing a lot of sweaters (204.694.5602).

If you're outside of the Winnipeg area:

If you are already familiar with shipping to CLWR, you can go ahead and ship those sweaters - but please check ahead with Patrick (patrick@clwr.mb.ca or 1.800.661.2597) and/or the shipping partner you use if you will be bringing them more boxes than usual. We don't want to overwhelm them!

If you haven't ever shipped to CLWR before, you should contact Patrick before you drop off your boxes at Home Hardware or another one of our shipping partners.* Patrick can connect you with the appropriate outlet.

*(FYI - Home Hardware stores and some of our transport partners in specific regionsgenerously offer free shipping to supporters who are donating items to our We Care program, provided the donations are boxed and labelled (see above).)

I’m not connected to a Lutheran congregation but I would like to lend a hand. What do I need to do?

Contact Patrick at patrick@clwr.mb.ca or 1.800.661.2597 and he will advise you. If you are in Winnipeg, you are welcome to drop off boxed sweaters at our warehouse (see above).

Are you going to continue to receive sweater donations after October 31?

Unfortunately, no. We normally don’t ship bulk clothing due to regulations many countries have for shipping clothing.

Spreading the word

We encourage everyone to engage their local community to help us reach this goal by issuing a local media release and talking to neighbouring churches.

We've prepared a media release, poster and bulletin blurb that you are welcome to use in spreading the word. The media release and the poster (in Word format) can be edited to include information specific to your congregation. They can be downloaded here:

Media release / Bulletin blurb / PDF Poster / editable poster in Word format

The significance of this humanitarian catastrophe cannot be overstated. Through the past year CLWR has lent its support with a material aid shipment and by gathering financial donations. For decades the generosity of Canadian Lutherans has made a real difference in times of crisis. Today your help is needed again to provide warmth and dignity for those that have survived unspeakable hardships. Together we will make a difference.

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