Hello again! The winter season is approaching fast, and the Chiang Mai International Rotary Club is pleased to launch its 8th annual Children’s Winter Clothing Appeal. We collect warm winter clothes, shoes, and blankets and donate them to vulnerable indigenous and migrant children and families living in the hills of Northern Thailand.
The mountainous areas can be surprisingly cold from November through January. Temperatures can drop down close to freezing. This can prove especially tough for those unable to afford proper clothing. With your assistance, we want to offer a hand to those in desperate need of help and warmth.
What is needed:
• Warm coats and jackets
• Pullovers, sweatshirts, and cardigans
• Long-sleeve shirts and T-shirts
• Long pants, leggings, and jeans
• Scarves
• Caps
• Gloves
• Socks (for school too) and warm tights
• Closed-toe shoes and sneakers; formal school shoes
• Blankets
If your kids have outgrown some of their winter clothes, please consider donating them at any of our donation drop-off points in Chiang Mai between Monday, October 16th, and Thursday, November 30th, 2023.
If you do not have any second-hand clothes to spare, please consider visiting your nearest thrift store and buying fuzzy warm onesies, jackets, sweaters, pants, leggings, socks, tights, shoes, hats, and gloves for young children.
If you are returning to Chiang Mai from overseas, we would greatly appreciate it if you brought some winter clothes with you. Do not forget to ask your friends to donate too. These winter items will make a massive difference to vulnerable people.
We kindly ask you to wash the clothes prior to donation and pack them in plastic bags before dropping them off.
For more updates on the project, link up with our LINE and Instagram accounts or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/winterclothingappeal.
Our drop-off points this year can be found here:
Thanks to the generous donations, last year we collected and delivered a record weight of 13,682.91 kg (30,165.65 lbs) of warm clothing, blankets, shoes, jackets, school supplies, and toys. We distributed donations to 12 remote, hard-to-access locations in 3 Northern provinces, namely Chiang Mai, Tak, and Mae Hong Son, benefiting hundreds of children and families.
Please note that we are unable to make individual collections. If you wish to donate, you can do so at one of the many drop-off locations conveniently spread throughout the town. If you do not have your own transportation, we recommend using a ride-hail service like Grab or Bolt.
We hope that, with the generous help of yours and our volunteers, we will be able to help those in desperate need of warmth. For more information on this project, visit www.cmirotary.org/winter-clothing-school-supplies-app.