OUT OF THE COLD AT ST. ANDREW’S
“The people of St. Andrew’s are called by God to serve in faith, hope and love in the heart of Toronto”. As one way to live out that mission statement, over twenty-five years ago, St. Andrew’s Church began to open its doors for people on the streets of Toronto, offering a place for them to come in out of the cold and have a good meal. Sadly, there are more people than ever responding to our invitation but St. Andrew’s continues to be a place where they find a good meal and some friends who care.
We have been offering community breakfasts year round on Tuesday mornings. From November until April, we have been serving supper on Monday nights. In recent years we have often welcomed OVER THREE HUNDRED guests on some evenings. Our chef works with a large team of volunteers to prepare delicious meals. Our mandate from the beginning is to serve meals that we would be proud to serve our family and friends.
In addition to serving wonderful meals, guests are welcome in our Boutique where they can choose new and gently used clothing as well as toiletry items. All of these items are donated. We now work in partnership with Brands for Canada and the Bargains Group.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR OUT OF THE COLD PROGRAMMES A SHORT VIDEO IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE:
THE MONDAY NIGHT SUPPER RESUMES – JANUARY 10, 2022
As a temporary measure, we will be serving supper between 3 and 6 p.m. This will be in a modified format which will reduce the number of volunteers required and will reduce contact among guests and between guests and volunteers. There will be no Boutique. We are putting these measures in place in response to the rising number of Covid cases. Please keep our guests and our volunteers in your prayers as we seek to respond to the needs of our neighbours in these difficult times.
Socially Distanced Prepping
Packing up those takeaway meals!
THE “BOUTIQUE” DONATIONS
Please note that the Boutique is moving to the King St. entrance. It is currently open during both the Tuesday breakfast but will not be open during the Monday supper due to the current Covid-19 situation.
With the weather turning colder the needs of our clients do change. We are in urgent need of the following new or gently used items:
1) Men’s and Women’s pants: jeans, khakis, casual, sweatpants – all sizes
2) Men’s and Women’s: sweaters, hoodies (the absolute favorite of our guests), fleeces and sweaters – all sizes
3) Men’s and Women’s winter boots- all sizes
4) Must be New: Men’s and Women’s underwear. Men’s long underwear and Women’s leggings.
5) Men’s and women’s winter coats. Please ensure they have all their buttons and that zippers are functional.
We would also ask that all used clothing be laundered or dry cleaned (and without stains) before donation.
The Boutique continues to need individually wrapped bars of soap, small bottles of shampoo, small packages of kleenex, disposable shaving blades, toothpaste, toothbrushes and insoles for shoes (all of which are available at Dollarama!). Small, medium and large plastic/cloth bags/knapsacks/ gym bags are always welcome.
If you would like to donate items, please arrange with the Church Office for a drop off time by emailing Diana Veenstra at: dveenstra@standrewstoronto.org The Boutique team and our OOTC guests, want to thank everyone for their continued support!
