Special COVID-19-Related Needs
In these challenging times, our affiliate partners and other organizations have needs that you can help meet.
ADAM HOUSE
Assemble and donate fruit baskets to the residents to help sustain and encourage them
Contact Info: bit.ly/GraceAHTeam
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.
LIGHT PATROL
Monetary support needed to make takeout food packages for street youth
Light patrol is still going out on outreach across the city to serve the hidden homeless
Needed items to support outreach:
10 pairs of sweatpants in medium and large sizes
For youth we recently connected with who are sleeping outside
Cases of bottled water
Men’s and women’s underwear in medium and large sizes
Grocery gift cards (Sobeys or Loblaws/President’s Choice)
PREGNANCY CARE CENTRE
Needed items for new mothers/parents:
Clothing, diapers (sizes 1,2,3), wipes, and formula
Deliver items to 15 Hove Street, Suite 100, North York, ON M3H 4Y8 - Bathurst & Sheppard
To make an online donation to support the work of the PCC, please visit https://pccfriends.ca/donations/ (link)
SAFE FAMILIES
Donation of a sofa or sectional for a young single mom who has had to move out of her apartment during this pandemic
Donations needed to provide groceries for Toronto moms who are unable to go out, bring their little ones to the grocery safely, or who cannot afford groceries during this time
Donation link: safefamiliescanada.com/donate/
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.
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: mabel@gracetoronto.ca
Affiliate Needs
Our affiliate partners 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.
ADAM HOUSE
Assemble and donate kitchen Start Up Kits (~$120) for residents leaving the house to settle in the community (Mabel has contents details)
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
(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)
Volunteer to help organize incoming donations
Donate tarps, clothing (e.g. hoodies, warm socks, underwear, long johns), and winter gear (e.g. blankets); or donate money to purchase sleeping bags, waterproof bags
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for new youth to be open to receiving help and that that will lead to building important relationships in their lives
PREGNANCY CARE CENTRE
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
Donate baby clothing (contact Mabel for drop off details)
Help expectant and new mothers find suitable housing
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer that Saturday outreach will continue to operate, so expecting mothers have the help they need on the weekend
Prayer for pregnant women who are calling and saying that with COVID-19 it is not a good time to have a baby
SAFE FAMILIES
People 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
Grace Gathering groups 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 God to provide support, comfort, and for the needs of families who struggle in isolation, now more than ever
Prayer for a spirit of hospitality to grow among churches in the GTA
SQUADS
Join program for elementary kids, Thursday evenings
Join youth choir leadership team
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 for the safety of families in Regent Park amidst rising gang violence, that their bodies and minds be protected
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
TORONTO CITY MISSION
PRAYER REQUESTS
Prayer for families served by TCM
For more information contact: mabel@gracetoronto.ca