Halifax woman collecting blankets for Northwood residents

Christmas is a special time of year filled with family, friends, food and gifts.

For one Haligonian, her favourite part of the season is the giving.

For the past few years, Nicole Martelle has collected blankets to give to residents at Northwood continuing care facility.

“It'll be three years ago in February that I started volunteering at Northwood and I wanted a way to show the residents they're appreciated and they're not alone at Christmas time,” she told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

“Often people enter nursing homes and families come and go, friends come and go, so I wanted to make sure that they knew someone cared about them.”

Martelle's original goal was to collect 33 blankets to cover the residents on her volunteer floor. She ended up with twice that amount. Last year she collected enough for the residents living on seven floors of the facility.

“This year we're hoping to … cover the Manor this year, and maybe even do Bedford campus, we'll see how it goes.”

Those who aren't skilled at knitting, sewing or crocheting can buy blankets to donate. 

Martelle said delivering the gifts is a heartwarming experience.

“Last year I did one on the special care floor. After I left, I had the RN reach out to me and explain that a couple of the residents were crying and saying it was the most beautiful and thoughtful gift they'd ever received,” she said.

“I'm the distributor and the collector. A lot of this can't happen without the community, so the bulk of the appreciation goes out to them.”

Those interested in making a donation can contact Northwood's Halifax campus at 902-454-8311 for more information.