THUNDER BAY — Homelessness can affect people at any age, and many of the people staying at Shelter House on any given night are youth.
Helping to support those young people is the goal for the Thunder Bay Home Depot's Orange Door Project campaign launched on Tuesday.
A hundred per cent of funds raised through the holiday fundraising campaign will go to Shelter House.
Brendan Carlin, executive director of Shelter House, said Home Depot has an interest in supporting youth who are in tough situations.
“Our funding will go towards that. We have certain youth beds and then we have a number of youths that stay with us either regularly, or in short stints.”
Carlin said last year the project raised approximately $9,000, but this year they’re hoping to bring in even more.
“We plan on having people at (Home Depot) from Shelter House, our volunteers, talking to customers and getting people engaged,” he said.
The shelter does more for the youth than simply providing a bed, said Carlin.
“Our plan is to purchase a couple of computers and donate some staff time towards helping with things like job searches, housing searches, schooling and stuff like that.
“So the youth who are in trouble might be able to get back on their feet,” he said.
Carlin said they are asking for monetary donations at the tills, but they'll gladly accept donations of clothing or other items.
"That's something that we really are in need of, socks and underwear. Anything people can donate would be fantastic," he said.
Aanal Kabaria, supervisor at Home Depot, said she has been a part of this campaign since she started working at Home Depot.
“We have a partnership with Thunder Bay Shelter House. All of our cashiers, the pro team, and even our associates participate,” she said.
Kabaria said its a core company value to give back.
“That is what we want — to embrace and follow that, giving back to our community, to embrace our own core value.”
The fundraising goal this year is between $11,000 and $12,000, she said.
“We have a huge journey ahead. Today we start and we have until Dec. 22.
“People can donate in store all the tills, even if it's assisted checkout or at the cashier check out. They can donate online as well.”
