The Share the Warmth program in Altona was launched back in 2006 by local resident Lorraine Heinrichs but for the past two years, Margarita has been the sole volunteer running the donation-based program. Share the Warmth does fall under the umbrella of The Community Exchange and this year, South Central Regional Library has hopped on board as well. Share the Warmth Organizer Margarita shared in broad strokes what the Share the Warmth program is, "Essentially, our goal is to ensure that all of our residents have access to proper winter gear for the winter months." Margarita connects people in the community and surrounding area to the program to help supply those in need, with warm and necessary winter clothing. South Central Regional Library joins the initiative Michelle McLaughlin is a librarian at the Altona Branch of South Central Regional Library and through her friendship with Margarita got on board with supporting the Share the Warmth winter clothing drive, "So Margarita and I are friends, and during just a friendly conversation, she expressed that the closet space that is in The Community Exchange for the Share the Warmth program was running empty, so I took it upon myself to invite her into the library and launch a clothing drive through us at the Altona branch. That's where I came into play. South Central Regional Library is always committed to serving the community. Not only do we want to be in the community, but we want to be a part of the community. Part of that is being able to provide where we see lack thereof, so when Margarita had expressed that things were low, I jumped on the opportunity to use some of our community exposure to see if we can fill those bins. Currently we have a little bit in there. We have had some generous people drop off some things, but we are still lacking in a lot and we only have a few weeks to go. We want to ensure that we can get as much as we can by November 1st because we all know that winter is coming and there is a need for people to have warm clothing in the area." Items most needed Margarita also talked about the most needed items that they are looking to get donated, "Yes, so our high need items would be gloves and boots. Preferably if the boots are donated, that they still have some tread left would be great. Then of course we do still need all the other items, and we need all sizes from little baby sizes to adult. Right across the board." Monetary donations & Maintaining dignity Organizer Margarita touched on how they have curated an experience at The Community Exchange to maintain a dignified experience for community members utilizing the program and how monetary donations can help them accomplish that, "So At the Community Exchange, what we have created is a boutique-like experience so that it can be... I think the best way to put it is when you are in need of something that is a basic need... I think it's important to create a dignified experience to be able to access that need. So we created this little boutique-like atmosphere, and that is why both items and monetary donations are greatly appreciated." Timeline to fill the bin Michalle wrapped up the conversation with how long we have to fill that bin and make a difference, "We are having the bin there at the Altona Library until November 1st. However, if people wanted to bring any donations or clothing after that, I can give them to Margarita down the road." If you, or someone you know, is in need of winter clothing, Margarita can connect you with those items by contacting her at sharethewarmthinfo@gmail.com If you would like to book an appointment to try things on, you can do that by contacting her at 204-304-6338 "I also want to just say a quick thank you to all the members of the Altona community because if there's one thing I've noticed is that whenever there is a call for help, it never goes unanswered." Enjoy the full conversation between Margarita, Michelle and CFAM host Zack Driedger below: