Helping those that are fighting on the frontline.
Lately, times have been tough for many individuals. The pandemic has put a strain on our frontline workers, causing some of them to get sick, feel exhausted or restricting them from seeing their loved ones. Prathun Yogarajah (our Prat), Associate Advisor for our team, has taken the initiative upon himself to do what he can for the frontline workers working at Credit Valley Hospital.
"I had recently closed on a new home in Brampton that I was eagerly ready to move into before the pandemic, but the situation is different now because I am living with my father who I want to ensure is taken care of during this time. I decided that since I wouldn't be living in the house yet, the house would be of better use to a frontline worker. Some essential workers don't want to return to their families with the chances they may get them sick."
Prat decided to reach out to some of his friends that work at Trillium hospital to see if they would be interested in living in the house for the time being, and he received an overwhelming response. He knew he needed to proceed with this idea and reached out to local home appliance and bedding stores to see if they would be willing to help.
Sleep Country donated four mattresses, pillows and bedding, which will eventually be sanitized and donated to a local shelter after the frontline workers join their families. Also, Strongman Appliances in Vaughan offered to donate a refrigerator, stove and other appliances to the frontline workers which will be later donated as well."
We are all very proud of what he's doing and we hope sharing Prat's story will some how pay it forward. We know those frontline workers are very thankful for Prat's act of kindness.
Prat has helped four nurses at Credit Valley Hospital settle into their temporary home while they're helping to fight COVID-19 and we all want to shout out a big THANK YOU PRAT ! YOU MAKE US PROUD :)
Youth Without Shelter
Ending youth homelessness one youth at a time…..
Annually we look for a charity we can learn more about and donate our time and support.
We found YWS and introduced ourselves to Mike Burnett. Mike spent time giving us a tour of the facility and what’s behind those walls is nothing short of life saving.
Some history…
“In 1986 a group of teachers and guidance counsellors created Youth without Shelter as they were frustrated with the lack of safe, emergency housing and support programs for their students. Since that time YWS has helped more than 15,000 homeless youth to build their confidence and life-skills and to find long-term stable housing and jobs. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we are dedicated to providing shelter and support programs in a safe environment, with the goal of getting youth off the streets permanently.”
This Vision statement is life changing for the youth that are fortunate enough to be a part of YWS.
This year’s donation of $2500.00 will be used towards the plenty of on-going projects to upgrade current living quarters as well as the need to expand and house more youth. With the government providing $3.50 per youth per day for food, it was clear that we needed to do more. In addition our team was privileged to spend time with the staff and volunteered to donate, prepare and serve a dinner meal that fed 50+ youth during the Christmas 2019 season. We hope the wings and mashed potatoes were tasty ; ) Looking forward to seeing you all again!
May 2019 - Nanny Angel Network (NAN)
We wanted to thank our dear friend MaryAnne for bringing this organization to our attention.
This is the only organization in Canada that provides free, specialized, relief childcare for mothers with cancer. Motherhood is never easy and moms who receive a cancer diagnosis face unimaginable challenges. NAN lessens the impact of cancer on families by providing much needed support for these mothers and their children.
We are proud to sponsor $2500 towards NAN’s fourth annual fundraiser, the Angels & Heroes Gala May of 2019. Since the event’s inception, they have raised nearly $1.5M which enables them to make an immediate impact in the lives of many mothers and children. As you know, private financial support is the lifeline for a charity such as NAN.
We all believe no mother with cancer should ever have to choose between looking after her children and getting the care and rest she needs to get well. We also believe no child should endure a parent’s illness or death due to cancer without support. We hope our support helps enable NAN to continue to give children the tools to cope with grief and loss, so that they can have better mental health outcomes and can grow to be strong, resilient adults.
NAN, Thank you for your continued dedication during these times!!
https://nannyangelnetwork.com/
Yonge Street Mission.....120+ years of helping Toronto's youth
We wanted to share our volunteer experience from fall of 2018 in supporting Evergreen (Yonge Street Mission-a division for Toronto's homeless youth) downtown . This is 1 of 4 Toronto locations of the YSM, and each location supports an array of services that are required to meet every day needs.
https://www.ysm.ca/
Members of our team assisted in the food preparation and serving to youth on the street (ages 16 – 24). We had opportunities to speak with many and learn of the various circumstances that have led to their situations. Some people are working part-time, going to school (single parents), and just spending time in this facility looking for a friendly conversation and a warm meal. The Evergreen location is set up to serve between 100+ youth daily for those that can find their way here. This facility has been at its location for approximately 120 years and unfortunately due to condo development , they will be moving to a facility further away from the Covenant house slated for later this year . Downstairs they are equipped with Therapy services (definitely needed), dentist, day care , employment services and identification services. Much more is needed however they definitely thought of many services that will assist them to a better path. The services are all free to them as volunteers are devoting their time weekly to assist.
We have met many incredible people that are committed to helping out. The selflessness of the staff is what the world needs more of. We are looking forward to being part of their crew again this November.
We appreciate the experience and the time we spent learning about the mission and hope with support they continue to place the youth on a better path.
Best Regards,
Tharshan, Sandra and Satish
