10/28/2020

Cover the City Blanket Drive

One person can make a difference. What started with Amanda Anderson helping a homeless man in High Point, North Carolina in 2013 has turned into a non-profit organization with the mission of covering cities literally and physically with warmth and love. Not only has this organization covered areas of North Carolina, they are also making an impact in Ohio and New York.

How the Organization Expanded

Curious, I inquired as to how they expanded to Ohio and New York. Amanda and her family live in Cleveland almost 4 months out of the year. They have always had a love for the city, the people, and the diverse culture, so they made it a second home. With many friends and connections in the area, including professional sports teams, the Northeast Ohio chapter was born in 2018 and has been one of their most successful expansions yet.

New York came about because a friend of Amanda's lives there and wanted to help the homeless in her area. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, she asked Amanda if she was interested in expanding to the area and the CTC board of directors quickly said yes to the expansion.

The program collects between 5,000 – 8,000 blankets each year and since their inception in 2013, they have collected over 40,000 blankets. Sadly, because of COVID, donations, both blanket and monetary, are down; however, they would still like to collect at least 5,000 blankets across all their chapters this year.

How to Donate & Get Involved

Donating in North Carolina is super easy! Just drop off a blanket at any Triad A Cleaner World location; we will clean gently used blankets and forward those along with new blankets on for distribution. Distribution is done through over 30 different organizations and groups, but the larger ones in North Carolina are Open Door Ministries, The IRC in Greensboro, Greensboro Urban Ministries, Next Step Ministries, The Bethesda Center, Winston Salem Rescue Mission, and West End Ministries.

A Cleaner World, along with our friends at Fox 8, got involved with the Cover the City Project last year, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the partnership. “Helping with this project fits perfectly with how we want to serve the public,” said Olivia Pekkala, Marketing Manager for A Cleaner World. “We want to be involved in the community, and we want to help our neighbors. Donate between now and November 30th and help us spread warmth throughout our community.”