a large collection of warm clothes organized to help refugees
Several Annecy boutiques are mobilizing for a warm clothing drive for refugees. The Riders for Refugees association is at the origin of this initiative, which has more than 70 collection points throughout France.
The sliding world is mobilizing for the refugees. For 7 years, the Annecy association Riders for Refugees has been organizing a warm clothing drive from October 1 to 31. The operation takes place in particular in the store Snowleader in Annecy where the collection is in full swing.
The brand calls on its customers to donate warm clothes. And for three weeks, donations have been piling up. “We have hats, head sizes, fleeces, sweaters, coats, jackets… Lots of nice, warm things, list Laura Pedron, event manager at Snowleader. We communicate a lot on this subject because it is an action that respects our values and that we want to continue. “
Seventy-five collection points like this are spread all over France. Everything is then collected by the Riders for Refugees association. And the donations are more and more numerous over the years. In 2020, 12,000 winter items had been collected and then redistributed to refugees from Calais to Briançon. Individuals are not the only ones to mobilize, donations also come from brands specializing in ski equipment.
“This allows us to collect, in large quantities, almost new clothes that come from test parks, after-sales service or which have a small defect and cannot be sold. It happens that a brand gives us 200 jackets”, explains David Malacrida, president of the Riders for Refugees association.
The association unites the world of snow sports with ski and snowboard champions as ambassadors, such as the French Victor Daviet who participated in the promotional clip. Dozens of volunteers are also participating in the operation, all mobilized to help the refugees hosted in France.
“There are about ten associations with which we work regularly, adds Laura Dahan, volunteer within the association. It can range from small local associations in Haute-Savoie which will ask us for a small stock of donations to help local populations, to large institutions such as Médecins sans frontières which will ask us for donation pallets. ” The operation will take place until October 31 at the collection points, the list of which can be found on the association’s website. It will then be necessary to sort the donations before redistributing them.