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A28 December 21, 2012 The Richmond News
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Community CHRISTMAS
Blanket drive warms homeless W hen people are choosing a charity to donate either money or items, there is often one priority they have in mind — that the donation stays in their own community. According to Fiona Youatt, that local element is one major reason why the Realtors Care Blanket Drive is so popular. “I had a woman actually call me after she read about the blanket drive and say the fact the donations stay in the community was why she was supporting us,” Youatt told the Richmond News. The latest drive has wrapped up its 18th-annual campaign across Metro Vancouver, with more than 19,000 working poor and homeless people from Hope to Whistler provided with
warm winter items. Nine different Richmond real estate offices were drop-off points for community donations. The scores of items donated were then collected, sorted and organized. The local beneficiary of the donations was the Richmond Salvation Army, which hosted a two-day event in mid-December, Youatt said. “Their clients were invited for a meal and then shopping afterwards in a different room where our donations were set up for them,” she said. “There were items for men, women and children to choose. This is something we’ve been doing with the Salvation Army for several years. They rely upon us for the donations we collect to host this event.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Richmond volunteers with bags of blanket donations. Since 1994, the Blanket Drive has grown to become the largest collection of its kind in the Lower Mainland, assisting more than 205,000
people over those years. Donations come from realtors, their clients, the general public, corporations, retailers, community groups and schools.
Follow simple tips to avoid getting sick from that turkey Turkey is an important part of many holiday celebrations and the BC Centre for Disease Control has some
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tips to help you prepare turkey safely. Proper food handling is especially important because turkey can be contaminated with bacteria like Salmonella. Salmonella can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, and can also lead to more serious complications, especially in infants and the elderly. As many as 650,000 people become ill due to foodborne illness in B.C. each year. The following steps can reduce the risk of getting sick from turkey: ❚ Buy safely: At the store, always put the turkey in a plastic bag separate from other foods as leaking turkey juices could contaminate those foods. Once home, immediately store the turkey in a sealed container in the
refrigerator or freezer. ❚ Thaw: Ideally, frozen turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator. Allow about one day of thawing time per 2 kg (5 pounds) of turkey. Thawing in a sealed plastic bag under cold running water is also acceptable. Once thawed, it must be stored in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Never thaw your turkey at room temperature. ❚ Separate: Ensure there is no cross contamination in the kitchen by keeping raw poultry separate from other foods. If possible, make any ready to eat foods, such as salad or raw vegetable platters, before you prepare your turkey. ❚ Clean: Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling any food. After preparing the turkey,
wash the counter, utensils and cutting boards with warm soapy water and then sanitize with a bleach solution before doing anything else in the kitchen. To make a bleach solution, combine 5 ml (1 teaspoon) bleach with 1 litre (4 cups) of water. ❚ Marinate properly: Many people now marinate their turkey before cooking. Marinating should always be done in the refrigerator. ❚ Cook: Whichever cooking method you use, always use a meat thermometer to ensure that the turkey is cooked. The minimum meat temperature should be at least 74C or hotter, taken in the thickest part of the thigh and with the thermometer not touching a bone. If the turkey is stuffed, then the stuffing must also be 74C or hotter.
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