With an estimated 116,000 people across Australia classified as homeless and that figure expected to increase during the current COVID-19 crisis, the Heat the Homeless appeal urges community members to donate their quality, pre-loved snow jackets to warm those in need.
Since the appeal’s inception in 2016, over 18,000 snow jackets have been donated to keep the homeless heated all around Australia. This year, XTM Performance, with support of Anaconda, aims to donate a further 20,000 jackets to help support those in need.
With COVID-19 impacting homelessness numbers across Australia, Anaconda and XTM are encouraging customers to dig deep this year and purchase a new snow jacket from Anaconda, if they are unable to supply a pre-loved jacket.
XTM Performance founder Pete Forras says: “There are so many high-quality jackets that are purchased for a single ski season before being discarded after only a couple of weeks of wear.
Rather than sending these jackets straight to landfill, we saw an opportunity to make a difference to the lives of the thousands of Australians sleeping rough throughout winter and we are so grateful to Anaconda for joining us on our mission to Heat the Homeless.”
Chris Lude, CEO of Anaconda, says: ”As Australia’s leading outdoor retailer, we’re dedicated to helping millions of Aussie adventurers create lasting winter memories every year.
For those doing it rough on our streets there is nowhere to escape the harshness of winter and with the current challenging economic climate, this is an incredibly difficult time.
We’re proud to continue to support XTM Performance in bringing a little bit of warmth to those that need it most”.
Along with jackets, other acceptable items for donation include pants and fleece jumpers. All items are must be in a clean and good condition.
You can drop off your jackets at Anaconda stores nationwide.
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