MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Multicultural Council (MJMC) thanks residents for their generous donations — especially during the holiday season — and asks future donors to call ahead due to limited storage space, staffing availability, and the risk of overwhelming drop-off locations with donated items.
The need for a courtesy reminder came after the MJMC faced a growing yet irregular number of donations that were left outside and were consequently ruined by the weather or scattered and pilfered during the night.
“Sometimes we’ll get people that will drop them off at our back door… but then (the donated items) get tossed around in the back alley and… that’s not really helping with what they want the donations to be accepted for,” explained Melissa Mitchell, manager of the Newcomer Welcome Centre.
“We would prefer to have a phone call before stopping at our office, because sometimes we don’t have the space (for further donations) because our community is so amazing,” she added.
If the organization is unable to accept your donation, Mitchell said a team member will guide you through a list of currently accepted items and will try their best to list other community organizations who have the room.
Currently, the MJMC has stated that its Newcomer Welcome Centre location is unable to accept further items, but the organization will soon be accepting donations to support its newcomer welcome packages that are distributed to new members of the community when they arrive.
“Typically, we look for seasonal donations, (and now) we’re going to be looking for some hygiene items very soon to help provide welcome packages to newcomers,” Mitchell confirmed. “(It’s) just to get them started (in their new home).”
Newcomers who reach out to the MJMC are provided with welcome packages containing essential hygiene and household items to help them settle in. These packages often include toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, and sometimes even generic household items like laundry or dish soap. In one of its recent donation requests, the MJMC has been requesting men and women’s deodorant, cotton swabs, loofas and shower sponges, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, and infant diapers.
In an important note of etiquette, all donations must be in relatively good condition without holes, rips, stains, or broken and missing parts, and should also be cleaned before being dropped off.
As demand for these packages continues to grow, the organization’s current supply stockpile is starting to run low and donations are needed to keep the program in operation.
Anyone wishing to donate to the MJMC can do so by first calling ahead and then stopping by either the Moose Jaw Multicultural Centre’s main office at 60 Athabasca Street East or the Newcomer Welcome Centre at 432 Main Street North. Both of these locations will accept donations.
You can also contact Sharayah at 306-693-4677 or by email at [email protected].
The MJMC office can be reached at 306-693-4677 and the Newcomer Welcome Centre can be reached at 306-692-6892.
For more information visit MJMCInc.ca or ‘Moose Jaw Multicultural Centre’ on Facebook and MJNWC.ca or ‘Moose Jaw Newcomer Welcome Centre’ on Facebook.
