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:

 

NEEDEDPlastic Shopping Bags Please drop off any excess plastic shopping bags at the church during regular work hours or please call 416-593-5600 if you need them picked up.  OOTC uses over 80 bags on a rainy breakfast morning and the Boutique uses them as well.

Thank you to the organizers, especially Ian Foulds, Indra Narayansingh and Dan Richards and to all the volunteers who made this year’s TIFF Book Sale so successful.  We enjoyed some wonderful weather, great music and lots of friendly people who came out to visit the Sanctuary, The 48th Highlanders Museum and our tables full of donated books.  All monies raised from the books and the sale of “Chocolates for Peace” will help to support both our Out of the Cold Program and our Refugee Sponsorship initiatives.

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St. Andrew’s Church 73 Simcoe Street, Toronto

Out of the Cold and Community Breakfast

Our take-away breakfast and Boutique continues weekly from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays.  Our Out of the Cold Supper will begin on Monday, November 6th this year and we look forward to welcoming back our guests for their take-away supper and a visit to the Boutique. We look forward to the start of this much needed program here in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Donations for the Boutique are always needed, but with the Fall and Winter season approaching, our needs do change.  As we plan ahead for the change in weather our most Urgent Needs are for the following items:

 

  1. Men’s and Women’s Fall and Winter Jackets
  2. Men’s and Women’s Winter Boots/Running Shoes
  3. Men and Women’s Gloves, Handwarmers, Winter Socks (must be new)
  4. Men’s and Women’s Sweaters and Hoodies
  5. Men’s and Women’s underwear and long underwear (both must be new)

 

We are also in need of:

  1. Men’s and Women’s Jeans, Sweatpants, Belts.
  2. Men’s and Women’s tee-shirts (long and short sleeved)
  3. Small, medium and large plastic/cloth bags/knapsacks/gym bags
  4. Small toiletry items such as soap, tooth brushes, toothpaste, facial tissues, shampoo, deodorant and insoles for shoes

We would also ask that all used clothing be laundered or dry cleaned (and without stains) before donation.

In addition, the Boutique also accepts monetary donations. Donations should be identified as donations to the Boutique.

To arrange a drop off time or monetary donation, please email the Church Manager, Diana Veenstra at: dveenstra@standrewstoronto.org

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Volunteer with Out of the Cold at St. Andrew’s

Our  Monday Night, Out of the Cold supper returns on November 6th while our Community Breakfast continues every Tuesday morning at 7:00 am throughout the year and the Boutique is also available at this time.

If you wish to volunteer with us in any part of the program you must register HERE:

This applies whether you are a new or a returning volunteer.

To learn more about our Out of the Cold Program, please click HERE

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