PROJECT COMFORT AND COMMUNITY CARE - Members Statement

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to Project Comfort, a community effort to make warm and comforting blankets for people in need in Dartmouth North. Started by community activist Cheyenne Hardy, Project Comfort began as a co-operation with CeaseFire when blankets were made for people who had lost family members because of violence.

With the help of a community grant from Between the Bridges, Cheyenne has expanded the project and assembled a team of volunteers including her mom Rowena, Vel Oakes, and Donna Bishop. Blankets are being made in three separate community gatherings where everyone and anyone is encouraged to come and pitch in.

A round of 12 blankets were made last Fall and were given to Adsum House. Last week, 10 more were made for the Dartmouth Shelter Society, and there will be another batch made soon.

Cheyenne has also taken this idea to Kenya, where she volunteered last summer, and led young people in a blanket-making exercise so they could start supporting people needing comfort in their own communities.

I ask all members of this House to join me in thanking Cheyenne and her team for their caring and generosity toward people who need a little extra comfort.