Making a difference, one basket at a time

Guelph-Wellington Basketeers is back again this year collecting household, personal care products wrapped in a basket and bow this holiday season.

The local chapter of Basketeers has existed in the community for the last 14 years. Volunteers and donors thoughtfully put together laundry baskets full of things women need. The baskets are for Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis (GWWIC). Women who use the services at the organization are given baskets so they have the things they need at home.

To drop off a basket people can go to 38 Elizabeth St. on Nov. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“So Basketeers have been identifying the kitchen and the bathroom, bedroom sort of a top priority areas of the house. So you can put anything in your baskets from towels to small appliances to the kitchen to cutlery and dishes. To bed sheets and pillows, cleaning products all sorts of things like that,” said Laura Blinkhorn, director of Guelph-Wellington Basketeers.

Last year 86 baskets were created and $5,700 was donated. This year things are getting into gear with 60 baskets registered to be give and more on the way. “I would say I think we're gonna do better than last year just in terms of baskets," said Blinkhorn.

In addition to the baskets any money donated gets turned into gift cards from Walmart and Canadian Tire. The idea for gift cards came during the pandemic. People couldn’t donate baskets during 2020 in order to limit the spread of COVID so gift cards were the next best alternative.

In 2022 and today it is a hybrid model. People can donate a basket or donate monetarily. 

“I would say the need of the shelter is sustained for the year,” said Blinkhorn. 

“So that's always the goal. I, you know organically we'd like to grow a little bit more and of course,” she said.

The Baskeeters have kept giving to GWWIC since it has such a large reach, Blinkhorn said.

“They look after hundreds, hundreds of women that have a lot of different support programs. So they see anywhere from human trafficking and drug addiction, gender based violence all kinds of different cases of people coming through,” she said.

She said there are a lot of the same people who come back year after year to donate. 

“And the other thing that I encourage too is do it with friends or do it in your workplace. Bring a basket set it up in your workplace and see what happens because that’s how I started doing it,” Blinkhorn said.

When she was a student she had started a new job and didn’t have money to spend to fill a basket on her own. She brought a basket to work with some items in it and people contributed so it became a full basket.

“For us Basketeers it's the support in a woman who’s been through trauma like that and received some help in just a very small way you know and encouragement to keep going and not go back and move forward,” Blinkhorn said.

If people are looking for details about the baskets or how to donate visit the website.