It is hard to believe that this is already our 20th outreach today! The weather forecast stated a high of -6 with mostly sunny skies, which is perfect winter weather for spending a few hours outside. Beau and I were extremely happy to find out that Denis and Chris would be joining us again today, for Outreach # 20. We arose fairly early, and after our coffee/tea, and oatmeal, we quickly got cracking on getting things organized and ready to go.
On a quick side note, we received a wonderful donation from the Proulx family (I will be writing more about this and other donations we have received, in the next Tuesdays “donations” update. Back to the Proulx family donation, among many other things, were a box of clementines to give out today, and a cooler sized (60 -80 cup), hot beverage container, with a spout and lever attached at the bottom.
This time, besides bringing the usual 60+ cups of coffee, we also had 60 cups of almost boiling water for making tea. Another time we could make hot chocolate, as a second choice besides coffee. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to the Proulx family for this valuable donation! It will make a tremendous difference to now be able to always have two options of hot beverages to bring with us!
We started packing the car with a full rack worth of warm clothing, plus another rack worth of winter coats for both men and women.
We packed some boots, mostly women’s, a large storage container full of mitts, hats, scarves & gloves, another large container full of socks & some underwear, the 3 drawer chest full of toiletries, the rack, the table, the bag full of coffee supplies (cups, stir sticks, paper towels, and cleaner, hand sanitizer, etc.), two blankets, the coffee urn & other container, a tray with 48 individually wrapped mini cakes in a variety of flavours & the box of clementines, and finally the cooler with milk, cream, and sugar. It is hard to believe that all of this, plus us two, “just” fits into our little Elantra!
We left right on time and arrived in front of the Salvation Army just after 10:30 AM. As soon as we parked, one of the regular guys came over and offered to help us set up. With his great help, we quickly had everything put together and set up.
Soon, there was a steady stream of individuals saying “hello”, helping themselves to coffee or tea, as well as the mini cakes and clementines. Others were looking through and picking items off the rack. Many were in need of mitts & gloves, scarves & hats! Imagine spending most of your days outdoors in this weather! It gets really cold!! Not long after setting up, Denis and Chris arrived, bringing more donations, including men’s winter jackets, to add to the rack. One fellow, who received a wonderful, warm winter jacket from Chris, was blown away by the generous gift he was just given, and said, “There is a God, thanks so much!” At one point, Denis even gave away his own pair of gloves that he had been wearing! That is generousity to the max! It was great having you guys helping out and interacting with the fellows, and lady we served today!
As I mentioned earlier, we had brought quite a few winter coats, and we handed them out according to who didn’t already have a warm winter jacket on, one who was visibly cold. We really try to give these donations directly to those who need them the most, and we can see with our own eyes how very much of a difference it can make to help someone stay just a little bit warmer! By 11:35 AM, all of the coffee and treats were gone. The stream of fellows had slowed to a trickle, and it was time to pack up and head home to start the next part of our busy Saturday.
Thank you much again, Denis and Chris, for believing in and supporting Project Dignity for All. It means the world to us, and we had fun hanging out with you guys! What a good feeling you have after yet another very successful outreach day!
As always, right now our priority needs are for warm winter clothing including, men’s winter coats and boots in all sizes, hats, scarves, mitts & gloves, snow pants, fleece wear, hoodies, warm sweaters, socks, and boxers, as well as blankets, sleeping bags, or anything else that might help!
We 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!