Affiliate and Community Needs
Our affiliate partners, and other organizations serving the community, have needs that you can help meet including prayer support. Some of these programs are being temporarily suspended, but prayer is always needed and you should consider how you might serve ongoing needs once Covid-19 has passed.
PREGNANCY CARE CENTRE
PCC's Annual Fundraising Event "It Starts With Love" (link) will happen online on Saturday, November 7th, 2020 at 7:30pm.
The livestream program will share inspiring client stories, updates on how your support is making a difference, and a line up of amazing guest speakers. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about one of our valued ministry partners and how through their work they are helping women thrive knowing that abortion is not their only option. Please consider registering today for (free) access to this event
If you intend to watch, please consider hosting a 'PCC Watch Party' in person or virtually. Invite friends and family within your social bubble, grab some snacks, and watch together, or gather virtually with friends
Please contact Rosemarie Friesen (rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca) to connect you with PCC staff for further information
To make an online donation to support the work of the PCC, please visit https://pccfriends.ca/donations/ (link)
Needed items for new mothers/parents:
Clothing, diapers (sizes 1,2,3), wipes, formula, and furniture (crib, car seat, stroller, etc.)
Deliver items to 15 Hove Street, Suite 100, North York, ON M3H 4Y8 - Bathurst & Sheppard
Help expectant and new mothers find suitable housing
Volunteers needed -- women to walk alongside expecting mothers, and men to walk alongside soon-to-be fathers
Downtown location (U of T campus)
Tuesday or Thursday; afternoons especially, but evenings work too; once-a-month commitment
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for pregnant women who are calling and saying that with COVID-19 it is not a good time to have a baby
Prayer that PCC moms will connect with church communities, so they feel supported and not isolated
Prayer for the downtown office’s continued growth to reach women in the downtown core
Prayer for the staff as they continually have to adapt during this time
ADAM HOUSE
Assemble and donate fruit baskets to the residents to help sustain and encourage them
Grace team continues to send weekly fruit packages to residents in Adam House and Adam House North
Each package contains an apple, a tangerine, an orange and a Bible verse of encouragement
Individuals or GGs can help by committing to a single week, or joining the regular rotation
GGs needed who are interested in sponsoring meals on Tuesday
Tuesday Bible Fun Time has now moved online and this has enabled Adam House North to participate as well
Adam House is looking for GGs to sponsor meals for either or both houses
Adam House Downtown has 13 adults, 6 children and 3 babies
Adam House North has 8 adults, 2 children and 2 babies
If you are interested, please contact the Executive Director, Lucy Chaimiti, directly at lchaimiti@adamhouse.org or 416-522-6310
Scotiabank Marathon is cancelled this year due to COVID-19, but the Charity Challenge is still on
Help support Adam House here (link)
Assemble and donate kitchen Start Up Kits (~$120) for residents leaving the house to settle in the community (Rosemarie has contents details)
Volunteers in the North York area are needed to form a circle of support for families living in Adam House North
For questions and more information, contact Tim and Danyao at https://bit.ly/GraceAHTeam
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for residents that Adam House be a pitstop on their long journey of asylum-seeking where they can get some rest and care, and meet some new friends who can support them in their journey forward
Prayer for residents who moved out of Adam House, that God put good neighbours into their lives who can help them adjust to life in their new communities
LIGHT PATROL
Needed items to support current outreach:
$5 Tim Hortons gift cards to hand out during outreach
10 pairs of sweatpants in medium and large sizes
For youth we recently connected with who are sleeping outside
Men’s and women’s underwear in medium and large sizes
(Urgent) Drivers needed for some outreach nights on Mondays and Thursdays
Both the RV and the 12-seater health van need drivers
No special license requirements needed; though for the RV, the volunteer should have experience driving RVs (comfortable controlling a large vehicle downtown)
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for new youth to be open to receiving help and that that will lead to building important relationships in their lives
SAFE FAMILIES
Needed items:
clothing for a baby girl (9+ months)
shoes (girl's size 13 for a 7-year-old, men's size 10 and 10.5 for 13- and 15-year-olds)
or a Walmart gift card to help purchase these items
Donations needed to provide groceries for Toronto moms who are unable to go out with their little ones to get groceries safely, or who cannot afford groceries during this time
Donation link: safefamiliescanada.com/donate/
People needed who would be willing to host children in their homes, for a temporary period of time, in order to provide care and respite to parents who are in need of extended family-like support during a difficult time
GGs needed who are willing to be trained through Safe Families to be an extended family-like support for a family in crisis in our city
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for insight, wisdom, and compassion so that staff and volunteers can develop meaningful relationships with every family they serve and that Jesus would be at the centre and direct every relationship He has entrusted to their care
Prayer for God to provide support, comfort, and for the needs of families who struggle in isolation, now more than ever
A few single mothers have been strained from carrying the full burden of parenting without time to recharge; they have been struggling with isolation and anxiety for some time; the pandemic is now compounding these struggles.
Prayer for a spirit of hospitality to grow among churches in the GTA
There has been an increase in referrals of parents not able to receive medical care due to a lack of child care for their children; please continue to pray for volunteers to join the team in both the Host Family and Family Friends roles
Prayer that the right Circle of Care can be placed around every family that needs support
SQUADS
Join program for elementary kids, Thursday evenings
Join youth choir leadership team
Needed items for kids as they start school:
backpacks
school supplies (notebooks, pens, pencils, etc.)
reusable face masks (youth size)
For in-kind donations, please email Kanga Foot (Kangaskidz@gmail.com) for instructions.
For financial donations, cheques are preferred, addressed to 'The Salvation Army Downtown East'. Alternatively, donations can be made through the online donation portal (sadowntowneast.com) — select “Ontario” and “Toronto Downtown East Community Church”.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer that the Squads Ministry will be able to find a new building, so kids and youth in Regent Park can continue to attend programs in a convenient location
Prayer that during this time of quarantine, leaders and kids can meet together online to study the Bible, that the leaders would deliver the curriculum well and the kids would have the necessary equipment to join
Prayer for wisdom for the leaders who are deciding whether, for the fall, to keep programs online or restart programs in a physical space
TORONTO CITY MISSION
Join Toronto City Mission (TCM) by participating in the Scotiabank Toronto Virtual Marathon (four-person relay, 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or full-marathon walk/run), October 1-31
Funds raised will help children, youth, and families impacted by poverty to participate in after-school programs, tutoring, and the Sonshine Day Camp
One in four children in Toronto are living in poverty; TCM desires that each child and their families will find hope through Jesus Christ and believes in training, teaching, and mentoring whole families to become leaders in their communities
To support this event, visit www.torontocitymission.com/new-events/tcm-run
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for good health for all children and staff who will be going back to school
Prayer for protection over the communities as there have been an increase of violence
Prayer for wisdom to stay safe as we start in-person programs again with children, TLCs, volunteers, and staff
THE DALE MINISTRIES
Donations needed: masks (disposable or homemade), sanitizer, soap, containers for takeout food
Financial support needed (www.thedale.org/donate)
Volunteers needed to check-in with community members virtually
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for people who are experiencing growing loneliness, fatigue, and fear as the pandemic drags on, that the burden and weight on them would be lifted
HOMELESS CONNECT TORONTO
Winter Clothing Drive: October 3rd, 4th, and 8th
Every fall for the past 8 years, Homeless Connect has organized a big one day event to help prepare at risk people for winter. This year restrictions require smaller, multi-location events. With winter coming under Covid conditions, this provision is even more important. Therefore, Homeless Connect is looking for new or slightly used winter clothing.
For more information on what to donate and where/when to drop it off, see https://www.hctoronto.org/fundraising
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer that HCT can continue to find spaces to operate that meet health guidelines and for the safety of volunteers working in restricted spaces
Prayer that adequate donations come in to sustain operations and that people stay engaged with HCT during these difficult times
FIGHT4FREEDOM
Walk4Freedom is a walkathon, on October 17th, being held to help raise awareness and funds for anti-sex trafficking work.
Three options available for participants.
For more information and sign-up: www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/fight4freedom/p2p/walk4freedom2020/team/downtown-toronto/
GOOD SHEPHERD
Volunteers needed to help make 800+ sandwiches per day and have them delivered to the drop-in at 412 Queen Street East between 8:30 am-4:00 pm
Drop off donations at back door of the centre, located off Sydenham Street. Go north on Tracy Street from Queen – the first stop sign is Sydenham and make a left and then the first left is the driveway to the back of Good Shepherd.
Need food supplies including mayonnaise, mustard, cheese slices, packaged snacks (eg. granola bars, cookies, potato chips, dried fruit), portable fruit (eg. apples, oranges, bananas), canned tuna and meat, peanut butter and jam, juice boxes, bottled water, ground coffee, and tea.
Need supplies for the medical clinic including hand sanitizer, alcohol swabs, Imodium, Benylin, Reactine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, Vicks VapoRub, Polysporin, and Visine.
Good Shepherd also accepts monetary contributions.
SANCTUARY
Our community is made up of people who are homeless, marginally-housed, street-involved, and poor, many of whom are living lives on the margins because of larger systems of oppression and injustice. Prior to Covid-19, there were already many gaps in resources for this community; many of these gaps and lacks have been amplified and exacerbated during this pandemic.
For ways to help, read this document (link) written by Lorraine, an outreach worker at Sanctuary.
YONGE STREET MISSION (YSM)
Donations of butchered meat, chicken legs, thighs, breast, and/or wings, ground beef, as well as frozen meats (chicken fingers, wings, burgers, etc.)
Halal would be best but any meat is greatly appreciated
Donations of men’s underwear (small, medium, large, and x-large), sunscreen (spray bottles), Bibles, paper towels, regular size shampoo, soap, deodorant, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies
Donation Drop-Off
Location: The Davis Centre, 270 Gerrard Street East
Drive to the back of the building into the laneway to the cage
Best drop-off days are Mondays and Wednesdays between 10 am and 3 pm
Contact Zana or receptionist at 416-929-9614 press "0", or email both Zana (zferataj@ysm.ca) and receptionist (receptiondept@ysm.ca)
Encouraging notes needed.
Our community members are struggling with a lot right now, especially isolation. We cannot connect with them in person; however words of encouragement can alleviate some of the stresses they are feeling. We would like to place a note of encouraging words into the hundreds of meal bags we give out every day.
Here is a link for any church member who would like to write an encouraging note to a community member. The note will be printed and placed in a meal bag.
Volunteers needed:
help people build their networks,
individual mentorship,
language proficiency tutoring, and
family-to-family mentorship (especially, Black families)
For all monetary donations, please go to www.ysm.ca (link) and donate online, or call 416-929-9614 and press “0” to donate over the phone
For more information contact: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca
New Volunteer Opportunities
FIGHT4FREEDOM
Fight4Freedom is an organization that works in the GTA with women, children and men enslaved in the sex trade. In addition, they offer aftercare, advocacy, and referral support to individuals who are ready and able to transition into alternate work. They are currently recruiting qualified individuals for the following roles:
Street Outreach
Commitment: minimum 1 year, weekly outreach
Outreach time: Fridays from 10:30pm-2:30am (usually it doesn't take up the whole 4 hours)
Through our street outreach ministry, we continue to journey with women in Toronto who are involved in sex work and often face challenges related to housing, substance use and mental health. During outreach time, we walk around the neighbourhood where it's known to have sex-work-related activities. We approach individuals with gifts and try to start up conversations. We listen as they share stories about their upbringing, relationships and long-distance parenting. From these stories, the common narrative that often emerges is one of intergenerational trauma perpetuated by cycles of criminalization and structural violence – many share about growing up in foster care, getting recruited into the sex industry, using street drugs to self-medicate, having 3-8 children apprehended due to addictions and then being incarcerated for drug possession. We continue to pray that our relationships with these ladies would allow us to speak truth and hope into the narratives that distort their sense of worth and identity. At a systemic level, both our ministry and survivor care departments are working with community partners to provide survivors and individuals who would like to exit with health support and to develop sustainable employment opportunities.
Club or Parlour Outreach
Commitment: minimum 1 year, monthly outreach and prayer gathering
Outreach time: one evening a month between Monday to Thursday for outreach; one evening a month for prayer and gift bag preparation; meet up time varies between 6-9pm; each outreach usually is within 3 hours time
Each club or parlour outreach team goes to the same strip club or parlours every month. The team approaches a club and asks entry permission from the club manager. Once allowed access, the team will go to the main area and approach individuals working there with gifts and try to start up conversations. For parlour outreach, the team approaches a parlour and tries to start up conversations with the individual who answers the door. We listen as they share stories. Same as street outreach, we continue to pray that our relationships with these ladies would allow us to speak truth and hope into the narratives that distort their sense of worth and identity. At a systemic level, both our ministry and survivor care departments are working with community partners to provide survivors and individuals who would like to exit with various support and to develop sustainable employment opportunities.
NOTE: Volunteers may encounter nudity during outreach. It is an asset to be bilingual in English and Chinese for parlour outreach.
If you are interested, please contact Rosemarie Friesen: rosemarie@gracetoronto.ca