Working with community organizations and through the use of JustServe, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is helping people in need in Canada. Here are three examples from April and May.
Food for people experiencing homelessness in Burnaby
The Vancouver British Columbia Stake took part in a project helping The Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby.
A substantial financial contribution from the Church’s humanitarian fund allowed the non-profit organization to purchase a new gas range stove, a microwave and tables. Funding also went toward purchasing food for weekly hot lunches and food distribution events next year.
The Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby serves 9,000 meals a year, and provides a Food Hub for 370 households each week, explained a post from the Church’s Canada Facebook account. The society also offers outreach services for financial, housing, immunization and medical care.
Carol-Ann Flanagan, the organization’s executive director, expressed her deep appreciation for the humanitarian assistance and explained that food security and essential nutrition is crucial for the most vulnerable populations in the area.
Making the donation, George Goeders from the Vancouver British Columbia Stake said, “It has been a privilege to work with such a passionate group that are making an invaluable difference to lift people in need in the community, one by one.”
Helping women and children in Montreal
In April, the Church gave a contribution to La Maison Bleue, a non-profit organization helping vulnerable children and pregnant women in Montreal, Quebec. The donation allowed the organization to purchase medical equipment and furniture for a new clinic opening in the borough of Montreal North.
Data cited in a news release from the Church’s Canada Newsroom shows more than 50% of families in the borough with children ages 5 and younger live below the low-income threshold, and almost 34% of pregnant women have no follow-up care in the first trimester of pregnancy.
La Maison Bleue hopes to make a difference by improving accessibility, continuity and quality of care and services — with a variety of doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, educators and other specialists available. The Montreal North location will be the fifth clinic in the network.
Montreal Ward Bishop Patrick Robertson toured the new clinic and said the Church is happy to be one of the community partners for this project.
“It shows that we honor the Savior’s invitations to visit the poor and the needy, impart of our substance and administer relief to those in need,” Bishop Robertson said. “In doing so, we collectively and individually witness our love for both God and our neighbor.”
Robertson said the Church “values families — the basic unit of society — as well as supporting social structures and the important role they play in developing healthy and happy societies.”
Working with organizations allows the Church to improve people’s lives and make a difference in the community at the grassroots level, Robertson said: “Local-level partnerships are very impactful because the outreach can more easily be directed to the source, the lives of those in need.”
JustServe aids with food drive in Grande Prairie
A food drive for the Veterans Association of Grande Prairie in the province of Alberta involved JustServe — an online platform where volunteers can find opportunities to serve.
Through a work connection, Latter-day Saint Mitchell Lewis heard that the Veterans Association needed food donations, and he knew it could be a good opportunity for the youth in his ward and stake to serve.
The Veterans Association posted the project on JustServe.org, and the event was promoted in the area through social media, radio and posters in school and public places.
Youth from the Church delivered bags door-to-door earlier in the week and then returned the morning of Saturday, April 13, to collect the bags full of food donations.
Around 140 volunteers helped, including members of the Church, friends of the Veterans Association and members of the community and surrounding areas. A motorcycle club saw the project, signed up and traveled several hours by motorcycle to get to Grande Prairie.
In a post from the Church’s Canada Facebook page, Lewis said, “The food drive was organized in conjunction with JustServe, so we had many members of the community come out to volunteer. JustServe helped make the food drive a bigger event, which in turn led to more food donations for the veterans in need.”
Hundreds of youth throughout Canada also used JustServe to find service projects for Global Youth Service Month. Some of those efforts are outlined in this Church News article and this news release from Canada Newsroom.
