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:
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN
“DOORS OPEN TORONTO” & THE BOOK SALE!
A SHOUT OUT TO OUR OUT OF THE COLD VOLUNTEERS!
A huge thank you to our Out of the Cold Volunteers. Our supper program ended on April 4th. Over the winter months we were serving a fabulous take away meal to an average of 250 guests. It takes a lot of work to do this and we depended on our volunteers to prepare, serve and cleanup – all while adhering to Covid 19 protocols. The love and commitment shown by members of our congregation and of our community spoke volumes to those who were struggling even more during the pandemic and over and over again they expressed their appreciation and gratitude. We too express our gratitude and thanks. And please don’t forget that our Breakfast and Boutique volunteers continue to serve throughout the year
THE MONDAY NIGHT SUPPER: Has now ended for the season
The OOTC Boutique is currently operating out of the West Tower during the Tuesday breakfast.
We are still accepting donations for the Boutique and with the coming of the Summer weather the needs of our clients do change.
We are currently in URGENT NEED of the following new or gently used items:
- Men’s and Women’s pants: jeans & khakis
- Men’s and Women’s running shoes – all sizes
- Baseball Caps – needed for protection from the sun
and then as always…..
- Men’s and Women’s : hoodies, tee-shirts, spring jacket
- Men’s and Women’s underwear and socks (must be new)
- Small, medium and large plastic/cloth bags/knapsacks/gym bags
- Small toiletry items such as soap, tooth brushes, toothpaste, facial tissues, shampoo and insoles for shoes (all of which are available at Dollarama!)
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.
To arrange a drop off time or monetary donation, please email Diana Veenstra at: dveenstra@standrewstoronto.org
