Maritimers have come through in a big way to help Syrian families seeking freedom in our region, so much so that the drop off centre in Halifax will no longer be accepting donations of goods.

On day one, Bob Price and his wife came to Nova Scotia's drop-off centre for Syrian refugees to make a donation. They've been back every day since to volunteer.

“In the beginning it was very overwhelming, cause the whole floor was covered with bags of clothing,” says Price.

What was once an empty warehouse now resembles a makeshift department store and, for the first time, the generosity of Nova Scotians can be shown in numbers. The province says, since December, Nova Scotians have donated the following items to the Syrian refugee campaign:

  • 4,000 bags of clothing, including 1,500 jackets
  • 75 high chairs and strollers
  • hundreds of household items like furniture, books, and toys
  • 5,000 people have dropped off donations there have been 3,000 calls of support
  • more than 350 people have volunteered their time

“Nova Scotians have more than stepped up to the plate, it's unbelievable,” says Gerry Mills, of the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia.”

There are now nearly 100 individual Syrians refugees in Nova Scotia, roughly half are privately sponsored, and half government assisted.

“We're expecting large numbers of refugees continuing on through 2016,” says Mills.

And while goods are no longer needed, volunteers are.

“We need volunteers now to come and sort the bags with all the clothing and what we're trying to do is get all the winter clothing out first, cause that's the need right now,” says Price.

The centre will remain open to the newcomers until mid-March, after that a new home will be found for the items that remain.

“We have many people here in our province who also need help and anything that isn't used here in the refugee settlement will be given to our agencies and other non-profits in Nova Scotia,” says Diana Whalen, deputy premier.

For those who would still like to donate, gift cards are still needed, particularly ones for grocery stores.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell