"Hope" in baskets filled with daily essentials to women's shelters
November 22, 2008, Mississauga - More than 850 women living in shelters throughout the GTA and beyond will receive anonymously donated laundry baskets full of daily necessities to help them get a head start on beginning their lives anew.
The Basketeers is a program that relies on the generosity of private donors and corporations to supply women who have recently left or are leaving shelters with basic items to help them get on their feet. The baskets themselves are donated by Rubbermaid Canada and filled by private and corporate donors with household essentials for the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, valued at approximately $200 each.
Donors will be dropping off hundreds of baskets to centres around the GTA today. This year, The Basketeers will support 16 shelters, up from 11 last year.
"The women who receive these baskets are really in dire straits and their needs are often overlooked during the holiday season," said Cheryl Stoneburgh, founder of The Basketeers program. "These baskets give women in need the opportunity for a fresh start by offering them the basic essentials most of us take for granted."
The laundry baskets are delivered to the various shelters by truck. This year, in addition to donating five baskets, UPS Canada has provided The Basketeers with two trucks to transport the decorated baskets to shelters in Burlington and Scarborough. The UPS trucks are ideally equipped with shelving, preventing stacking and reducing the likelihood of damage.
"One of the greatest challenges the program faces is the logistics of getting these hundreds of baskets to all the different shelters," said Steve Vitale, manager of communications for UPS Canada. "We are thrilled we can help out with this important project by giving it wheels and protecting all the hard work and generosity of its donors and volunteers."
To help instill even more holiday spirit into the event, the UPS trucks will be loaded up by Santa Claus himself.
Stoneburgh founded The Basketeers program nine years ago when donations totaled only 14 baskets. This year the count will be in excess of 850. Today, the program has grown exponentially in donations, volunteers and chapters, including additional locations in Stratford, Simcoe, Hamilton and York.
About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain and freight services. With more than a century of experience in transportation and logistics, UPS is a leading global trade expert equipped with a broad portfolio of solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
About Basketeers
The Basketeers is an Etobicoke-based, volunteer-run organization dedicated to assisting women in new beginnings. The program was founded by Cheryl Stoneburgh in 2000 as a means of providing assistance to the many women in need in the GTA and its surrounding regions. Since its inaugural year, The Basketeers has facilitated the donating and delivering of thousands of baskets of essentials to women living in urban and regional shelters. For more information, please visit www.basketeers.ca
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