Warm Hearts jacket repair project in its 2nd year across Saskatchewan

Aiming to recycle and also to help those in need, Warm Hearts: Jacket Repair Project serves several communities in Saskatchewan and is going on its second year.

Meg Dorwart, the communications and events co-ordinator with the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council, says people who have winter jackets they wish to give away but need some fixing can be donated through the jacket repair project.

“We find volunteers that can fix them and then we donate them,” she said. “So, to try and keep those jackets out of the landfill and then also keep the value in those jackets so that people can actually use them.”

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Last year, the project received and repaired 172 winter jackets across Regina, Saskatoon and Lloydminster. This year, it added a few more communities to its drop-off and distribution list to serve more people.

This is Sheila Schmutz’s second year volunteering for the Warm Hearts project. Last year, she fixed a total of 35 winter jackets and hopes to achieve more this year.

“I think that there are many good pieces of clothing that end up in the landfill and it’s sort of sad that many quality winter jackets have very poor-quality zippers,” said Schmutz. “Every year, of course, we hear on the radio of people in or around Saskatoon, as well as other places in the province who really need (winter jackets).”

The drop-off locations are Dean Renwick Design Studio in Regina, Better Off Duds in Saskatoon, Country Quilts and Stitches in Lloydminster, the Wandering Market in Moose Jaw and the Church of God in Estevan.

Organizers are looking to expand to Prince Albert as well. Dorwart said the more volunteers they receive, the more they can expand to different cities and communities, but they like to remind people to ensure the clothing is clean prior to drop-off.

“For anyone wanting to drop off jackets in any of these locations to make sure that they’re clean, just trying to respect that the volunteers have agreed to fix them and not clean them,” said Dorwart.

For more information on this project, visit the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council website.