At the beginning of each year we rest briefly, celebrate the past year, take a deep breath and try and catch up with our many volunteers who are sprinting ahead of us, leading the way and talking with our community about something very simple, yet very important.
What is that?
Potatoes.
January is going to be over before we know it! But, last week, some people got together to celebrate a job well done this last December. I’m talking of course about the Kitchener Conestoga Rotary Club (website here).
It’s no secret that the House of Friendship couldn’t do the work they do without the community. The Christmas Hamper Program is no different, and depends on volunteers, donations and a lot of hard work. The Rotary Club has been a big part of the program these last six years and with their annual Turkey Drive to support House of Friendship we are able ensure that thousands of people have a less stressful December.
Rotarians gathered at a luncheon last week to reveal the results of the Drive in the form of a cheque presentation to House of Friendship, and to thank and recognize the many businesses and individuals who stepped up to help make sure every Christmas Hamper request was met.
Surpassing last year’s record amount, the Rotarians raised $267,301.41(gross) for the 2011 Turkey Drive. When Club members realized that they were within $450 of hitting the $1 Million mark for the Turkey Drive over its first six years, in true Rotarian fashion they quickly passed the hat to get them over the top. They did so inspired by the stories of generosity behind the 2011 Turkey Drive. Read the rest of this entry »
Amy has been volunteering at the Emergency Food Hamper program since the beginning of October. She is up for any task that is thrown her way, whether it be bagging bulk food items or packing the hampers, she’s game! Here is what Amy had to say about her time here so far:
How did you hear about House of Friendship?
I was looking for a place to volunteer, so I googled ‘volunteering’ and House of Friendship (HOF) popped up. I had heard about HOF before, but I wasn’t sure what all the organization did.
What do you enjoy about volunteering at the EFHP?
I like all the people that I get to meet here, while packing hampers or working in the warehouse. I also just like helping in general. It feels good to do something like this.
What’s your favourite job at our program?
My favourite job would have to be packing the hampers. It is nice to be able to hand that food off to people that really need it. I also really like to see what goes into the hampers. Every time that I volunteer, there are always different things that go into a hamper.
How has volunteering impacted your life?
Volunteering has really opened my eyes up to the different situations that people are in. It has also given me a glimpse of the needs exists within our community.
Are there any other programs that you are or have volunteered with?
I am currently volunteering once a week at a program run by Christian Horizons called Circles Café. Circles Café is an art program. I just completed a graphic design program atFanshaweCollegeinLondon, so this is good experience for me as I look for something in my field.
What kind of activities or hobbies do you enjoy when you aren’t working or volunteering?
In my spare time, I enjoy playing the guitar. I started taking guitar lessons about two years ago, and I just recently stopped taking them. I am still learning to play the guitar, but I like to play all kinds of music. I also am really into fitness and graphic design. I love to watch all kinds of movies, from comedy, to romance and even thrillers. I am movie lover for sure!
Thanks Amy for taking some time to let us get to know you a little bit better! Your hard work here at the EFHP is much appreciated!
Have you seen a poster like this around your office? Or have you seen it on a television commercial? It’s a popular piece of media to remind us one of the many ways we can prevent spreading illnesses such as colds and flu’s throughout the community.
However getting a flu shot is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of influenza to yourself, your co-workers, your friends and family, or anyone else you interact with throughout the day. Although the flu shot cannot protect you against the common cold, there are a number of benefits to getting immunized each year. Read the rest of this entry »
As promised, this entry is the first in a series of posts to share with you a taste of what it is like to be the House of Friendship Social Service Intern. I thought I would break these entries into smaller posts by day, so as to not overwhelm you with too many stories. So, here you have it: a Monday in the life of the Social Service Intern.
I am generally at the Emergency Food Hamper Program all day on Mondays (as well as on Thursday mornings and all day on Fridays). When I first arrive at 8:30 in the morning, I am always greeted with a friendly hello from all of the staff and volunteers. For the first two and a half hours, I get to work with the other volunteers and staff who are working in the warehouse. Here, I do things like stock shelves full of items that we provide to patrons – anything from soup, yogurt and pasta to diapers, baby food and dog food. Or, I help bag potatoes or carrots into smaller bags that will be shared in the food hampers. It’s always interesting to see the variety of items that are donated to us, as we receive donations from the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Loblaws, and individual donations from members of the community. I have found that since working in the warehouse, I have learned so much about food itself – such as what different types of exotic vegetables are used for, or when foods are good until. (For instance, did you know that yogurt is typically good for 14 days after its best-before date? Who knew?) There’s never a dull moment in the warehouse, and the staff and volunteers are always chipper and ready to serve others with joy.
Recently, I finished learning about our intake process and getting some more experience doing intake. We open our doors to the public at 11:00am, and at that time, I am helping at intake. After a while of working in intake to help with the morning rush, I move back and forth between intake and packing food hampers.
Intake involves sensitively welcoming patrons as they come and getting some basic information from them to pull up their files (see Matt’s post here). I find this part of the job fascinating, for a number of reasons. Something that I find myself reacting internally to is the diversity in the ages of patrons who come to use the food hamper program, and the broad scope of life experiences from which each one comes.
I’ve heard the saying “curiosity, rather than judgement” before. That string of words continues to play through my mind during my experiences here at hampers. Say, for example, there is a patron who may have already had 9 visits with us in a year instead of the “theoretical limit” of 6, and wants another hamper today. Suddenly, I have a choice in front of me. I can grow impatient and frustrated, wondering why this patron doesn’t seem to abide by our guidelines. Or, I can choose to act with grace and patience, perhaps remaining open to the different reasons why this person may be in more dire need for emergency food than just the six hampers a year can satisfy. I can gently explain to this patron how we can help today, and maybe ask more questions to determine what sorts of other resources he or she could access for food in the future.
Often, in asking for a patron’s birthday to pull up a file, I learn that there is a man or woman who is exactly, or near to, my age, or the same age as my siblings (as Mike had experienced, and written about here; or as Allison shared in this post). Suddenly, the person on the other side of the counter is no longer just the person on the other side of the counter. In our short interaction, I see myself in them. Or I see my best friend, or my twenty-year-old twin brothers. It really is amazing how personal it makes things, and how much it makes me appreciate how my life has turned out so far. It just so happens that I have enough money to live comfortably in an apartment with enough food to satisfy. It just so happens that life events have happened, for me, in such a way that I do not find myself wondering where my next meal will come from. But when I am looking at a woman on the other side of the counter who is around my age and who has three kids plus herself to support, I find myself overwhelmed. I realize again and again how easily my life could look different. How easily the tables could be turned. Because really, I require food as much as a patron who comes into our program does. We are both equals in life, in society and in our necessity of food. The only difference is the amount of available resources that each of us has.
These are just some of the experiences through which I am learning a great deal at House of Friendship. There is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to learn exponentially more through the rest of my time here.
Today is the day before Christmas, a day when many of us will be exchanging gifts with friends and family and coming together. Today we thought it would be timely to share a few words from Michael Hackbusch, the Chaplaincy Director at House of Friendship about the local faith community, and the many gifts they share with our community each year.
It has been an extraordinary 12 days of giving and sharing in Kitchener Waterloo. Over six hundred volunteers have helped the House of Friendship these last few weeks to move a record number of Christmas Hampers out into the community and into people’s cupboards.
Who are these people? Schools, individuals, businesses, friends and coworkers have collected food, packed it up and driven it out to people. Others have endured the elements to hand out more than 3000 turkeys and ensure that people have something to share with friends and family as they sit down together this weekend to celebrate each other and to look forward to the coming year.
On this blog we have shared some inspiration, ideas and suggestions on how you can do something big or small to make this region a little nicer for everyone. We hope that you were moved to action and we would love to hear how it went for you. Haven’t taken the plunge into volunteering yet? Why not make it your new years resolution to get out there and volunteer? There are lots of great places to help you get started.
What good is there in volunteering and the collective efforts of these hundreds of people who have given some, or in some cases, all of their time these last few weeks in the service of others?
Our Executive Director, John, asked these same questions recently. He shared with us these words:
“We have now finished delivering 4081 “little gifts” in the form of Christmas Hampers. Delivering these gifts this past week has been an eye-opening experience for me, bringing home the importance of people having appropriate housing, being part of community, accessing addition treatment, and being nourished with food and more. At the end of the deliveries, I came home with many more questions, and very few answers. What good will this one Christmas Hamper do? What do my efforts matter? Individual efforts can at times seem so futile but when I think about all of our individual efforts combined, I feel hope!”
“My hope is rekindled each time I attend one of our program’s Christmas celebrations. What a gift to see the transformation of individuals as a result of safe and affordable housing, recovery, life skills training, community building, support with parenting, and a listening ear. So many great stories! Stories that we share with our community to inspire and challenge them to Pitch In and make a difference so that hope can always be present in our community.”
Each day at the many programs of the House of Friendship and the countless non-profit groups that work with people in need, volunteers and hope transform people’s lives. By sharing tangible goods like food and clothing, or intangible things like a listening year, a caring word and positive attitude you can make a real difference to someone.
Yesterday I spoke with Oscar, who called to update me on his efforts to deliver at least 100 Christmas Hampers. The last time I had spoken with him, he was already at 125 hampers. Yesterday he told me he had just finished his 151st delivery. In response to my words of amazement and congratulation he shared with me “I just program my GPS and drive around and drop them off. It’s something I really enjoy doing, and when you see how happy people are to receive it, it makes it all worth it.”
If you volunteer, thank you! Let us know what makes it worthwhile for you on twitter, facebook or the comment space below. If you’re thinking of volunteering in 2012, what do you hope to get out of it? As we hope you have seen this last 12 days, it’s easy and it makes a world of difference to everyone in our community.
“Please don’t forget me.”
This is what a woman said to me on the phone last week. She was one of the many people who were concerned that her Christmas Food Hamper would not be delivered and that somehow her name had gotten lost.
Uncertainty and doubt is a common sight for many non-profit organizations. Where will my next meal come from? Will I overcome my illness? Will I lose in my struggle with this addiction? I can’t pay my rent this month, will I get evicted?
How do we answer these questions? With the giving spirit and kindness of volunteers many of them will receive the right answer. Yes, here is some food. Yes, we will walk with you on your road to recovery. Yes, we will find you the resources and ensure that you stay housed.
On the other side of the coin, people at this time of year, are swept up in the spirit of giving and wonder where to direct their gifts. It can be a hard to decide. There are many needs, many organizations and many causes all asking for your support. Who should you help? How will you ensure that the families who need help can get some?
One place you can start is your phone book yellow pages. What are your interests? Do you like animals? Where is the local animal shelter? It is very likely they will always need your help with money, volunteering or gifts in kind. Does someone in your family have an addiction they are struggling with? There are probably treatment programs in your area that could use your help.
Another great place to start to find the contact information for a non-profit in need of assistance is 211 (more info from our blog here and from their website here) or locally, the Community Information Centre, operated in KW by the Social Planning Council.
If you’re interested in helping programs and agencies that work with people’s immediate needs the Community Information Centre has a handy resource on their website. It’s a listing of places that help with immediate needs (here) like hospitals, emergency shelters for men, women and youth; as well as programs that assist with food. They also have a listing of some of the key programs that help with other needs (here) like legal advice, counselling, housing and clothing.
This can be a quick start to finding the right place for you, if you are looking donate. But maybe you want to learn more about the organization before you write the cheque? You can give them a call and ask them some questions, or you can look them up on the Canada Revenue Agencies website (here), where you can find out more about their financial details and operations. Most organizations will have an annual report that they will be happy to send you, or you can even find it on their website (our’s is here).
Non-profits depend on donations to do their work. If you are not able to make a financial contribution, consider your closets and basement and attic. You may have some new or gently used clothing, furniture, books, dishes or toys that may delight and make a huge difference to someone in need. However, consider your intended recipient before driving a truck load of stuff over. Now is a busy season and many people are in a similar mindset to your own. It’s hard to help others when you’re up to your neck in bags of clothing, and it’s heartbreaking to have to throw something out because it was left on your doorstep over the weekend and is now waterlogged, falling apart and filthy after getting rained on. If you have the space to hold onto it, maybe they would appreciate it sometime in the new year?
Every little bit helps. Even if it’s a set of mugs that you never really needed, or ten spare dollars that you have to share. It all gets put to use, helping others, and ensuring that they are not forgotten, now, or any other time, the rest of the year.
Is is easy to volunteer? How much of a difference can you make in an hour or two? Is it worthwhile?
These are all questions that Carlos, a local radio host with 91.5 The Beat, decided to answer. As we mentioned previously (here) he is out in the community doing a different volunteer job with a different agency each day for 30 days. This last Saturday was day Deed 23 and he was helping the House of Friendship distribute turkeys
Today is day 10 of our 12Days campaign. Tomorrow is the final day of turkey distribution and by that time the last of the Christmas Hamper should be safely stashed away in people’s cupboards. As of this morning, the final count for Christmas Hampers is 4081! The 600+ volunteers who have helped accomplish this amazing record have touched the lives of thousands of people. As Carlos demonstrates, you can make a big difference to someone in the space of an hour or two. This is something that people never forget.
Have you decided to volunteer yet? Let us know! Comment, tweet @HOFKW or post on our facebook wall.
