Outreach » Faith in ActionWednesday Community Lunch Every week throughout the year, volunteers provide a hot nourishing meal and fellowship at St Clement's for 25 to 40 people in need in the community.Those attending are also assisted with information on free medical and dental care, housing and meal information. Parishioners are invited to contribute food, clothing, and supplies such as toiletries, knapsacks and sleeping bags. New volunteer helpers are always welcome. St Bartholomew’s Food Bank St Bartholomew’s Anglican Church,serves the community of Regent’s Park and Lower East Toronto through a number of social programs.The Food Bank provides weekly hampers for the disadvantaged in the area. The number of needy is steadily rising. St Clement's provides ongoing support to St Bart’s Food Bank through donations of dry food, tinned goods, and toiletries at Sunday services, and through financial donations from the congregation. Volunteers for a one-month stint of driving donations to St Bart’s are also much needed. Flemingdon Park Food Bank St Clement’s parishioners have supported the Flemingdon Park Food Bank since 2005. Outreach organizes special food drives for Flemingdon Park and provides funds to help meet the needs of its large immigrant population. Volunteers also provide gifts and cookies for children at Christmas. Ingles House provides counseling and life skills to young women aged 16 to 24 years, recovering from addictions. It offers a supportive environment, self-help opportunities, and job training to help women return to health and the community. St Clement's provides financial support, practical ‘graduation’ gifts, and Chrismas gifts. Volunteers from the congregation also plant and tend the gardens at Ingles House. Volunteers are always needed. Monaco House is an affordable housing project of the St Clair West Affordable Housing Group. St Clement's worked with a number of other churches to help fund this renovation of an empty United Church building. When finished, it will provide 20 affordable housing units, five for victims of domestic abuse, five for the disabled, and ten for homeless families. Monaco Place is one of the few affordable housing projects to receive Federal-Provincial funding in 2008 because of need, excellent management and design. Matthew House is a caring community that offers food, shelter, medical and counseling referrals, orientation to Canada, and help with government paperwork to newly arrived and often traumatized refugee claimants. The well-trained staff help clients find apartments, offer household items, and provide a sense of safety and hope. St Clement’s parishioners have provided ongoing and increasing support to Matthew House for some time. The need is great. Due to lack of space, Matthew House has to turn away four times the number of refugees they have been able to help. Father Bruno–Haiti Since 1991, each year St Clement's has faithfully funded student scholarships which assist children of poor families in Haiti to attend school. Typically, we have funded 50 scholarships annually. The scholarship program is run by Father Jean Bruno, an Episcopalian priest who founded the schools. Since 1987, St Clement's parishioners have visited father Bruno in Haiti on four occasions and Father Bruno has visited us several times, most recently in 2008. The scholarship program we support provides tuition, uniforms, books and a hot meal each day at a cost of $200USD per year. In addition to our support of the scholarships, we've also asisted in the developement of Father Bruno's school in Terrier Rouge, providing $35,000 towards building the school in 2002, $20,000 in 2005 to purchase solar panels that supply electricity to the school, as well as purchasing a generator, paying the cost of a well, and sending assistance after the devastating hurricanes of 2008. Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers-to-Grandmothers Campaign In sub-Saharan Africa, some 40% to 60% of children who have lost both parents to AIDS now live with their grandmothers. The Stephen Lewis Foundation provides these grandmothers with food, school fees and uniforms, income-generating projects, counseling and social support. To help fund these activities and build a future for these children, grandmothers in Africa are often matched with grandmothers in Canada and other countries. St Clement's has supported the Grannies Campaign for a number of years. Primate’s World Relief & Development Fund PWRDF works in partnership with organizations in Canada and throughout the world to improve the quality of daily life for vulnerable populations. The Primate’s fund encourages self-reliance and addresses the root causes of poverty and injustice. It is active in approximately 30 countries, and also works with displaced populations including victims of disasters, refugees, and migrant workers. PWRDF and its partners from Anglican churches, ecumenical organizations and community-based groups help the disadvantaged and threatened beyond survival into sustainable development. Christmas Baskets for Mooreland’s Every year families at St Clement’s and children from The Early Learning School are matched with some 20 inner-city families through Moorelands (formerly the Downtown Workers Association). Parishioners provide Christmas baskets filled with gloves, scarves, toys, DVDs and other articles based on lists provided by the families. St Clement’s families look forward to this event and often involve their own children in shopping for the Mooreland’s families. Don’t forget to sign up for your family this Christmas.
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