Like always, it has been a very busy past few weeks. Since a very successful Outreach # 12, we have received a great number of new donations. We would like to take the opportunity to thank a number of great individuals who have generously donated to our cause. First, we say a huge thank you to my beautiful eldest daughter Tiffany and her husband Alan, who donated a bag full of menswear. All of the cargo shorts and t-shirts have helped fill our rack for the next outreach. Another big thank you to our wonderful neighbor and friend Sharon, who donated three large bags of women’s clothing, including a wonderful warm Sens onesie, multiple fancy scarves, fancy tops and office wear, blouses, sweaters, etc. Everything is absolutely gorgeous and looks brand new. We also want to thank Beau’s co-worker Corina, who again organized a large donation from a lovely woman named Monique. She is moving away from Ottawa with her daughter and wanted all the clothing they were purging to go to those less fortunate. Monique generously donated multiple garbage bags and boxes full of a large variety of women’s and children’s clothing, shoes, blanket, and even a basketball. Thank you so much, Monique and Corina. We appreciate it so much! A final huge thank you goes to our wonderful neighbor Nicole, who along with her husband also gave us a large donation. It included men’s sweatpants and shirts, long sleeve t’s, socks, fall jacket, dress shirts, t-shirts, and a blanket. There were also women’s sweaters, blouses, t-shirts, sweatshirts, bras, underwear, pants, winter jacket, and multiple pairs of socks. Your donation definitely helped fill our rack for Outreach # 13. I wanted to mention one more donation that was left in front of our door yesterday. The bag contained women’s sweatpants, jeans, shorts and a number of tops. There was not a note indicating who dropped it off, but we want to say a heartfelt thank you for this anonymous donation.
This past Saturday we spent a number of hours sorting through and organizing the most recent donations. Since it has become apparent to us that there are many, many more men directly on the street compared to women, we decided to pass on some of the donated women’s clothing ( and this time even children’s clothing) to some other organizations that also help women in need. We dropped off a large donation of women’s and children’s clothing, blanket and the basketball and some stuffed animals to Maison De L’Amitie Hull, who offer help to women victims of violence and their children. We also have put aside 2 bags full of fancier office wear and shoes, that we will be passing on to an organization called Dress for Success, who help women get back on their feet and into the workforce. They provide women with free appropriate clothing for job interviews and new jobs.
Our next Outreach # 13 is planned for this Saturday, August 24th. We plan on arriving at the Salvation Army between 10:30 AM and 11:00 AM. Anyone who wants to join us for a coffee and a chat is more than welcome! We again want to thank each and every one of you for any and all donations. Without all of you, we couldn’t do what we do!