Our Homeless Relief Blankets in Action

Our Homeless Blankets in Action!

A woman bundled against the cold walks past a homeless man in McPherson Square as temperatures dipped into the single digits Fahrenheit and minus degrees with the wind chill on January 7, 2014 in Washington, DC.

 

For more information on our blankets for homeless and humanitarian relief, view our website

Stay warm!
Paulette

Disaster Supplies and GSA Advantage

While at the VEMEC Conference  in Washington D.C. recently, I had the pleasure of meeting wonderful and dedicated people focused on helping others during disaster relief situations.
Author: Paulette Butler

The consensus was the Federal Gov’t is not efficient at handling large scale disasters.  The major suggestion was that States, Counties and Cities can serve their local population much better than various departments in Washington.

One topic in the forum was the task of finding reliable and qualified vendors for various supplies.

GSA Advantage is an internet portal with pre qualified vendors offering a wide range of supplies.  Federal agencies can order directly from this website.  Local governments can order products and services under the Disaster Recovery & Cooperative Purchasing Program.  Go to GSA Advantage . Scroll to the bottom and click on State & Local Governments to see the details.

If you need items and it is not a declared emergency, simply entering an item in the Search field can provide all the information needed to contact the appropriate company.  For example, a search for “wool blankets” brings up several vendors and styles of blankets.  A search for “Northwest Woolen Mills” shows all the items available from our company.

I hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Northwest Woolen Mills and GSA Advantage

Dual-Use Disaster Relief Domes

I love this idea of building super strong domes for daily recreational use, serving double-duty as a disaster relief shelter.  What do you think?
Dual-Use Domes Are Shelter in a Storm

Northwest Woolen Mills.

What a great idea for a disaster relief shelter!

Selecting wool blankets for Homeless Shelters

Many homeless shelters are grateful to receive wool blankets for their clients.

Customers often call Northwest Woolen Mills and ask me what wool blankets are recommended for homeless shelters. 

If you aren't familiar with the homeless shelter, giving them a call is a great start. Ask if they support people living on the street or if they house clients overnight.

In either case, the best relief blanket should have a minimum of 30% wool.  Wool is a natural fiber, holding in body heat during cold weather, yet allowing perspiration to evaporate in both cold and warm temperatures.  Wool blankets also maintain their thermal properties even when wet.

Non-woven wool blankets being distributed at a shelter in Florida

For people living on the street, an inexpensive "non-woven" blanket is an economical choice.  Non-woven means the wool and other fibers are intertwined to make a felt type humanitarian blanket.  These wool blankets are warm and fluffy, keeping the user comfortable.  They are generally not very "pretty", which is a good choice for street living because they will not get stolen from the user.

For homeless shelters that house clients overnight, a "loom-woven" wool blanket is preferred.  This is because the shelter will be washing the wool blankets regularly.  Loom woven wool blankets are durable and long-lasting.

I hope this information is useful in making a decision about which wool blankets to purchase.  Thank you for helping others in need.

Paulette
Northwest Woolen Mills

Yay!  Northwest Woolen Mills is now blogging.

I'm unpacking wool blankets for a rush order
for our HeatSmart Program

So many potential and current customers have questions about wool blankets and the correct style to suit their needs.
No need to wonder anymore. I hope to answer all your questions about wool blankets, so send them on.

For more wool blanket information, view our site.
Stay warm,
Paulette