Wanted: 1,500 pairs of gloves for Winter Glove Challenge

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Fort St. John non-profit organization hopes to collect at least 1,500 gloves for its 2026 Winter Glove Challenge. 

The Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society started the Winter Glove Challenge on February 2nd and it will run until the end of February. 

Lilly Loichinger, outreach store coordinator for the Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society, told Enegerticcity.ca the main goal of the challenge is to bring more gloves into the Outreach Store. 

Loichinger said: “We always run out quite quickly of any kind of warm gloves with the amount of women, men and children we regularly see.”

In addition to gloves, the Outreach Store is constantly looking for warm winterwear, especially winter coats, hand warmers, warm socks and foot warmers. 

Last year, Loichinger shared, the Outreach Store collected over 1,200 pairs through the initiative. 

She said: “I’m really hoping to get 1,500 pairs [this year]. We are hoping to see hand and foot warmers being donated quite a bit as well, since those are always wonderful to be able to hand someone and they do hold their heat for a very long time.” 

Loichinger shared that the outreach centre has noticed the need for winter clothing over the winter months. 

She shared: “We noticed that the gloves, regardless of child or adult, disappear the quickest off of our shelves.

“We’re fairly fortunate with hats and scarves [as] we always have a decent amount, but gloves, particularly, seem to be going like candy.” 

Once the society received the gloves, “we generally try to make sure each glove has its [pair]. We try to attach them together because they do like to wander, unfortunately,” she said, adding any donations need to be in good condition. 

Loichinger said how grateful the society is for the Fort St. John community. “They have…shown [us] how absolutely kind and wonderful they are and how incredibly supportive. 

“The community has always been so wonderful in pulling together and really making sure everyone pitches in their [own] way.” 

Gloves and other winterwear can be dropped off at Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society’s Outreach Store, the Fort St. John Visitor Information Centre inside the Pomeroy Sport Centre and the Catholic Church of the Resurrection.