November 20, 2017 - From now until December 6th, 2017, USW Local 1944 Women of Steel Committee in the Lower Mainland will be gathering and distributing items and food to the more than one-hundred less fortunate friends and neighbours who are living in tents in Downtown Surrey, BC.

The temperatures are already dropping below zero and the shelters are full and overflowing. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the items we are looking for: food, juice boxes, mandarin oranges, blankets, sleeping bags, hygiene products, gloves, toques... We will also be preparing lunch bags for distribution.

Our goal is to distribute the items collected in the evening of December 6th, in recognition of the anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique Massacre in Montréal, during which 14 women were singled out for their gender and murdered.

"For the men and women who survived the 1989 Massacre, each anniversary signifies hope," says Betty Carrasco, National Vice-President of USW Local 1944, and Chair of the Women of Steel Committee. "This is why we have chosen this day to distribute donations in Downtown Surrey: we want to spread the hope and claim out loud that moving forward is possible for every one of us. We also aim at raising awareness about the violence that women still endure throughout our country in 2017. The women living in Downtown Surrey are at high risk of suffering gender-based violence too. Hearing what they have to say is the first step to take action."

If you can donate, help prepare lunch bags in the afternoon, or distribute items on December 6th, please reach out to womenofsteel@usw1944.ca.

Items can be dropped off at the USW Local 1944 office at 5261 Lane Street, in Burnaby. Unit 51 members can also drop items with Julie Charbonneau.

All our members are encouraged to participate!

In Solidarity,

United Steel Workers Local 1944