It started with a chance moment of eye contact between Gregory Ould and a homeless man on the street on a cold night seven years ago in Vancouver's Chinatown.

Unable to just walk away, Ould asked the man if he needed some help.

"He said, 'Yes, I could use a blanket to survive the night," Ould said.

Ould was shocked that the difference between life and death may have just been a warm blanket.

"There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen and there's no way in hell we should let that happen," Ould said.

He fetched a blanket from the nearby Army & Navy, and hasn't looked back.

Now, about 100,000 blankets later, his non-profit Blanket BC is hosting its inaugural Hike for the Homeless at Minnekhada Park this weekend.

Residents are invited to come out and join a Saturday 5-kilometre or 10-kilometre hike and bring blankets and clothing, nonperishable food items and suggested $20 donations to help the local needy.

Proceeds and donations will be sent to the SHARE Family and Community Services Society and the Hope for Freedom Society, both of which assist local homeless folks throughout the year.

"We want to help these organizations and raise awareness that there's still homelessness in the Tri-City area, and although there's a lot of good that happens in the Tri-City area, there's always room for more," Ould said. "The need is greater than ever. It seems there is a lot more people relying on organizations such as SHARE and Hope for Freedom."

Ould is hoping to get at least 100 hikers and more than 1,000 pounds of donated food.

Registration for the event happens at 9: 30 a.m. at the Quarry Road entrance to Minnekhada Park, and the weather is forecasted to cooperate.

"Enjoy the park. Just come out. It's going to be a glorious day.

Thank God, we haven't seen a September like this in such a long time."

For more information go to www. blanketbc.org.

editorial@thenownews.com