KENORA – October 3, 2026 – The City of Kenora and the Kenora Makwa Patrol have opened a winter warmth drive, asking residents for clean, gently used cold-weather gear for people living outside, with drop-offs at the Lake of the Woods Discovery Centre through October 31.
The list is specific. Blankets, sleeping bags, winter jackets, mitts, socks and winter boots. Everyday clothing, scarves, kids’ clothes and summer wear are not being taken. Donations go in a plastic bag and have to be handed to city staff inside the Discovery Centre at 931 Lakeview Drive, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. Nothing left at the door. The building is closed Thanksgiving Monday, October 12.
A city release said the donations “will make a significant difference in the lives of those in need this winter.” That is the ask. It is not a count.
The timing is the story. October nights in Kenora are already dropping toward freezing. The Kenora District Services Board’s point-in-time count is still the last public snapshot of who is sleeping rough, and the shelter system has not grown with the need. Makwa Patrol is the group that already walks those streets. A coat drive does not replace a bed. It is what the city and the patrol can collect before the first hard cold, and they have put a deadline on it.
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