Western New York natives Mike Alexander and Vithaya Kanhalangsy co-founded their pet project “Blankets for Buffalo,” back in November just at the start of colder weather here in Western New York.

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“I think it was after a Bills game right after the win over the Jets,” said Alexander. “And my cofounder and I we’re just talking about how cold its going to get and how many people struggle with staying warm in the winter,” he said.

According to a story aired on WIVB-TV the idea is to give the gift of warmth to those in need in our area this holiday season.

“We wanted to charge forward with that ‘City of Good Neighbors,’ mantra, so we kind of came up with the idea to donate some blankets,” said Alexander. With everything that’s going on in the world we wanted to find a way to keep the faith going,” said Kanhalangsy.

They had collected more than a hundred blankets, and the prospect of washing and cleaning them became a bit overwhelming...so they reached out to Colvin Cleaners, known for their service to the needy in our area for a helping hand.

“I know he does such a great job with coats 4 kids and everything like that so I wanted to stop by and see if there was any opportunity for him to offer us a discount,” said Alexander.

Colvin Cleaners offered to clean all the blankets for free. “We’re helping keep people warm in the City of Buffalo whether it’s coats or blankets now,” said owner Paul Billoni.

All blankets collected through the Blankets for Buffalo campaign will be donated to non-profits across WNY.

For locations to donate check out the Blankets For Buffalo Facebook page.

 

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