You’re not the only one with a wish list; the Lloydminster Men’s Shelter also has a number of items they hope to get for the holiday season.
They run through a lot of their donations over the holidays and through the winter. Executive Director Valerie Lazicki, says that many who donated often wanted to know what they have the biggest need for.
“The community I guess needed a little guidance. They wanted to make the most meaningful purchases, they wanted to buy things they knew we definitely need the most. That’s how we came up with the idea of the wish list so that we could give people a little bit of guidance of the items we run through the most.”
The wish list is on their Facebook page. On the list are items like passes for entertainment, long distance calling cards, gift cards for grocery stores and a gas barbeque.
The shelter also has a needs list. This includes daily items for hygiene, clothing or for the hot meals they serve. They typically serve a lot of clients this season and are always at capacity. But when they’re full, there are other ways they can help.
“We support them with having our lobby open as a warming station. We provide them with warm clothes, we make sure that they have warm footwear, that they have warm gloves. Ski pants, if we have them, warm coats, blankets, that kind of thing,” says Lazicki.
The shelter also has ways to donate that aren’t supplies for their operations. They sell gift cards for different prices that allow you to gift someone things like haircuts, business clothes or resume help.
“For example, $25 is a grooming package, and so that money would provide a variety of grooming items. A bed for a night costs $75. An interview package costs $125. so that gives men nice clean interview appropriate clothes, a haircut, resume service, that sort of thing,” says Lazicki.
These types of gift cards come in many price denominations. They come with a tax-deductible receipt as well as a card to gift someone.