We woke up bright and early at 6:00 AM to a cold and sunny Saturday outreach morning. Beau and I had contemplated postponing today’s outreach because I have been fighting a nasty cough/cold since Thursday, but I decided to tough it out for the morning, knowing I could spend the rest of the weekend in recovery mode! After eating our oatmeal and having our coffee/tea, we quickly got to work with our usual organizing and packing up the car with all of the many things we possibly need for a successful outreach. Beau made 45 cups of delicious hot chocolate and 30 cups of nice strong coffee.
We stuffed 60 small zip-lock bags with a yummy cheese croissant in each. We packed a rack’s full of clothing (2/3 men’s and 1/3 women’s). Unfortunately, we only had a few winter jackets and no winter boots this time! We did bring a number of different sizes and styles of carrying bags and packsacks, as well as a warm blanket. Once the car was completely stuffed full, we immediately headed to the downtown core.
We had been informed by Suzanne, our good friend/Beau’s co-worker, that she would be joining us again to help out today, and sure enough, Suzanne was already there waiting for us when we arrived in front of the Salvation Army on George St. at exactly 10:30 AM. The three of us, as well as one of the regular fellows, started to set things up right away.
It was a bit of a challenge this time, because the snowbanks had not been removed from the sidewalks yet, but we still managed anyways! As soon as the table with the coffee/hot chocolate was up and ready, we immediately had a steady stream of fellows happily helping themselves to a steaming hot beverage and tasty croissant. We had also brought along a few single-serving boxes of Rice Crispies, which were enjoyed by some of the first few individuals who showed up this morning. Once the rack was set up, the shopping frenzy started, with many of the fellows picking out clothing items, socks, gloves, tuques, toiletries, etc.
Suzanne had again brought along a number of donations, including brand new socks, mitts, toothpaste/brushes/cases that she herself had purchased out of her own pocket for the cause! Thank you so much, Suzanne, for being such a generous and joyful member of the Project Dignity family! It is always such a pleasure having you hang out with us during our outreach days. Your help and company are very much appreciated!
After a few hours of steady activity, great chats and laughs, all of the hot chocolate, treats, and most of the coffee was gone.
There were still some of the women’s items left on the rack since only two women dropped by the whole time we were there. When we checked the time, we realized that it was almost noon, so we said our goodbyes, packed up the car, and headed back home. All in all, it was definitely another great outreach day, and we could feel a familiar warm, sunny glow in our hearts.
This is the first time in a long time that we are almost completely out of seasonally appropriate men’s clothing and footwear! We desperately still need warm clothing, such as winter jackets, hoodies, fleece, winter boots, etc. The donations that we receive during the week are the items that we bring with us on our next outreach day, and even this time we felt bad that we were lacking in warmer items! We are willing to pick up donations anywhere in the Ottawa area. Just email us or contact us through Facebook messenger. We wish everyone a wonderful rest of the week.
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!