WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- As we head into colder days, Boscov's is thinking of those who need a helping hand this winter.
The store's Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Hazleton, and Pottsville locations are doing a blanket drive called "A Blanket from Al."
"His ideals were -- he was a very kind, giving man, supporting the community, and we want to continue," Boscov's employee Diane Jasonis said. "We want that kind of perception to go off in the world. The world needs a little more kindness."
This is the second year for the blanket drive. It started after Mr. Boscov passed away, and his wife remembered a good deed he did.
"They were on their honeymoon and on their way up to New York state to the mountains, and there was an accident," Boscov's Regional Public Relations Manager Irene Kelly said. "Albert -- Al -- I'm sorry. She calls him Al. Al pulled over and took a new blanket out of his trunk and put it on the gentleman that was there. She said, 'Al had a blanket for everyone who needed it.'"
The blanket drive began at the end of last month. There has already been a huge response from the community.
"On October 1, it was like, Oh, my God," Kelly said. "My office was packed with three huge big boxes like this, full of blankets that they had to come and get, so that's a pretty wonderful thing that says a lot for this community. That says a lot for the valley, and we are the Valley with a Heart."
The store is hosting a fundraiser next Tuesday called, "Friends Helping Friends." If you donate $5 to charity, you get a coupon that can be used on items in the store, including blanket donations.
The blanket drive ends October 31.