Bear Clan seeks donations to help homeless people

The Thunder Bay, Ont., Bear Clan is soliciting donations of blankets, clothing and toiletries to give to homeless people it meets during its safety patrols.

The citizens' safety patrol groupdecided to start collecting the items after coming across makeshift shelters in the bush, team leaderTina Achneepineskumsaid.

"There were no blankets," she said. "So we decided we should collect stuff and maybe leave them there for some people," she said."We didn't have anything with us at the time, so we kind of, like, felt bad."

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The response so far has been "awesome," Achneepineskum said, adding that she spent much of Sunday evening and Monday picking up donations.

"We are very touched by all the response we've been getting from people," she added. "It really makes us feel good about what we're doing, and we just want to make sure that everyone's safe out there and that we're watching out for them," she said.

Anyone wanting to donate can contact the group through the Bear Clan Patrol Thunder Bay Facebook page.

The Bear Clan beganpatrolling Thunder Bay earlier this month.

Its teams keep watch over the major bus terminals andwaterways around Thunder Bay, and the County Park trail system, among other areas, Achneepineskum said.