The City of Edmonton announced Friday that Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society (EERSS) would be accepting donations at a new warehouse on the south side – and it would be the only place donations could be dropped off at.
On Friday, officials said starting on Saturday, May 14 at 8 a.m., donations for EERSS to help Fort McMurray evacuees would only be accepted at a warehouse located at 3870 98 Street.
Before, donations could be accepted at a hangar at the Edmonton International Airport, and at a location in the city’s downtown.
The new warehouse will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. – officials said they hoped the single location, which offers 71,000 square feet of space, would make handling donations more efficient.
“One single location will make management of donations more efficient,” Nicole Geoffroy with EERSS said.
“We have more space and several loading bays for large shipments,” Geoffroy continued, saying shipments of donations from Winnipeg, Ottawa and Newfoundland are expected to arrive over the weekend.
Officials said since May 9, the organization had served approximately 17,500 evacuees.
The organization also put out the call for urgent donations, saying they urgently needed laundry detergent, ready-to-use baby formula, undergarments for all sizes and genders, plus-sized clothing and towels. A full list of needed items has been posted online.
All donations must be new; the organization said they don’t have the resources to handle used donations quickly.
