While red mittens at the Bay's Olympic Superstore in downtown Vancouver are flying off the shelves, the mitts are plentiful at a warehouse on Broadway and Cambie.
The warehouse is home to the Vancouver 2010 Lost and Found Claims Centre, which has processed approximately 3,000 lost items, including hundreds of mittens and umbrellas, since the beginning of the Olympics, according to the Centre's staff.
The warehouse, which receives new items each day, also has boxes filled with an assortment of jewelry, cameras, cell phones, binoculars and shoes.
There are even some strollers. And a retainer.
The Lost and Found currently employs ten workers while providing another three with volunteer opportunities.
"[The Olympics are] a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm glad I am here to be part of it," said Cathy Bailey, one of the volunteers.
Bailey got the volunteer job through the newSTART Bridging Employment Program for Women. The program is helping her add to her resume so that she can get back into the work force.
About eight to 10 per cent of the warehouse's items have been reclaimed by their owners, but those that remain at the end of the Paralympic Games in March will not be thrown out.
Instead, the items will be donated to the Network of Inner City Community Services (NICCS), a coalition of community organizations serving children and families in Vancouver's inner city.
NICCS partnered with VANOC to run the Lost and Found, marking the first time that a non-profit has provided lost and found claims services during an Olympic Games.
Lost items that are not claimed will be given to individuals in need or sold to support NICCS' goal of raising $50,000 to $100,000 for early childhood programs in the inner city, said Kate Hodgson, NICCS' executive director.
In the coming weeks, VANOC will add to the mix by donating Olympic assets, including beds from the Athletes Villages in Whistler and Vancouver.
