Christmas Distribution 2013

When I think about our Christmas distribution this year, I am blown away.  First, by the dedication and enthusiasm of our volunteers.  There were over 40 (I think over 50, but I didn't count and I don't like inflating numbers) volunteers running around filling 181 boxes with food stuffs for our families.  Many of these volunteers also delivered boxes, some making a few trips, to make sure that our families received their Christmas baskets. The weather was dicey at best, and yet they were willing to make those extra trips for our friends in need.

Secondly, the amount of food that came in allowed us to really bless our community.  Over $50,000 in food was distributed.  Most families received two or three boxes to get them through this holiday season.  One lady, upon receiving 2 large boxes, became emotional and was very grateful for this moment of light in her rather gloomy experience.  We also distributed over $25,500 in gifts.  Many of our friends can't afford regular life, let alone Christmas gifts for their kids.  Parents show amazing gratitude, when they are able to give their kids gifts.

On top of all this good news, an anonymous donor offered us $10,000 if we could find someone to match it  This week, a matching donor came forward!  I can't wait to see what the new year will bring.  Have a Merry Christmas.

Peace,

K 

In The News...

Here is the latest article focusing on our Food Bank.  Merry Christmas Everyone!

http://www.westislandchronicle.com/Community/2013-12-17/article-3547193/Making-ends-meet/1

Peace,

K

Crazy, Amazing and a Little Scary...

To say that a lot has gone on since my last blog would be an understatement.  There are 3 major changes that we are thrilled with. 

First, We now have a gas stove and fryer in our kitchen.  Due to a generous donor we have converted our kitchen to gas.  For those of you who have experienced cooking with gas, it is an amazing upgrade. 

Second, The amazing truck you see in the picture above, is ours.  It was donated to us by Hockey Helps the Homeless, and the graphics were donated by Pazazz Printing.  This means, no more beloved green bus.  With the food supplies we have been receiving, the green bus was becoming very impractical. 

And last but not least, we have now expanded our space, officially, to 9,000 sq. feet.  We were unofficially using 4,000 that the landlord couldn't rent.  In the last year we grew to the point where we couldn't live without it.  In the last month, he found a renter, but wanted to give us first shot at it.  After much discussion we arrived at an amazing deal, that only adds $2000 a month to our rent.  We are very happy that we no longer live under the cloud of "will he rent it?"  This does create other challenges, like raising the funds to pay for it.  We are trusting that this will work out. 

We are now serving between 185 & 200 families every week.  Sometimes I wonder how we got here.  It is daunting and yet also very exciting to see that we can make a difference in people's lives by showing them love, through the very practical act of providing food.

Thank you to all who serve here, whether in action or with financial support.  We could not make a difference without you.

Peace,

K

$25X500 Challenge

 Check out the story in The Montreal Times last week.  Help us to continue making a difference by getting involved in the $25X500 Challenge 

Cooking With Gas!

We were blessed with donations of a commercial gas stove and a brand new french fry vat.  We were further blessed with a donation to cover the cost of having gas installed in our facility and equipment hook up. The plumber is in today giving us our gas feed.  Two more steps and we are cooking with gas. This means we can more efficiently serve our friends who frequent the diner and allows us to expand our services.  We are excited about these very important additions and our diner staff are thrilled as well.  Thank you to those who have contributed to our work in this community.  We could not do this without our volunteers and those who give financially to ORCS.

CTV and other news

CTV News came in a few weeks back and did a story for their Power Of One segment for the Sunday News.  I must say, we could not have asked for a better piece on our work.  A big Thank you to Maya Johnson. Check it out here:  http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=914983&playlistId=1.1257924&binId=1.815

In other news, today Biotek is here retrofitting all of our refrigeration units with new DC motors.  This will save us a ton of money on our electric bill.  John & Linda at Biotek have become awesome supporters of our work and we appreciate it very much.

We continue to struggle financially.  We really do need people who will invest in this work on a monthly basis.  If you can help, please contact me.  Our Office Administrator and I have not been paid since January.  We cannot continue this way.

Please keep us in prayer.

Peace,

K

Lots Going On

I have not blogged since December 4th!  That is crazy.  Life has been so busy.  We spent much of November and December gearing up for the Christmas delivery for our families.  The Christmas boxes were amazing again this year.  We had about 35 volunteers here putting the boxes together and delivering.  Once again the Pierrefonds Police department helped.  It is always fun to have them involved in serving the community this way.

As soon as the Christmas food drive was over we jumped into high gear on the Coldest Night of the Year, a walk-a-thon in the middle of February.  We did this in partnership with Blue Sea Philanthropy in Toronto.  Our Goal was to raise $25,000.  A lofty goal, we thought.  In the end with 22 teams and about 120 walkers, we raised $32,000!  It was a lot of fun for all involved, as a sea of yellow tuques marched through the community.

We are now gearing up for our Wine tasting, which takes place June 1.  We are also starting a fund raising campaign to find 500 people who will donate $20 a month to help serve the poor in our community on a regular basis.  We need to develop a solid financial base in order to guarantee our long term service to the poor in our community.  We are serving 170+ households in our community totaling about 600 people.  This is a big responsibility, and we take it very seriously.  If you are not involved in supporting us, please consider partnering with us.  You can contact me at kim@onrock.org.

Peace,

K