Yellowknife (Feb 25/04) - The warmth of those who care was evident among parishioners of Yellowknife's Holy Family Lutheran Church recently.

"We are a very small congregation, but God has given us big hearts," Pastor Connie Landstrom said of the 93 blankets bought for the homeless.

Each year, a "Care and Share" project is initiated by the Sunday school program.

This year, instead of donating money to a charity, Landstrom said the children were given a special project resulting in the purchase of the blankets. "The idea was to build awareness of those who are less fortunate and cannot help themselves," she said.

Children were told to count the items in their homes which are often taken for granted.

After the inventory, pennies were collected, depending upon how many items the were counted.

The result -- $675 raised and 93 warm blankets purchased. "Other years the money went to global hunger or other organizations, this year it was closer to home," she said.

"The blankets went to the Centre for Women and Families and the Salvation Army."