The Mile End Mission has always been a very special community that, among other things, empowers its members through their active participation.
Since 2015, we started to honor this participation by referring to our dedicated crew of volunteer Mission members as our Leadership Team. This amazing team ensures that meals are prepared and served at our free hot meals program, donations of clothing and small household goods are sorted and sold at our ‘Friperie Joyce’ thrift shop, and Food Bank groceries are packed and distributed to the 100 people who use this service each Thursday.
Numerous other initiatives made possible through the tireless efforts of the Leadership Team include; setting up our annual Open House BBQ, preparing and distributing our Christmas and Easter baskets and helping to cook and serve traditional holiday meals for our members.
Over the years, we’ve been graced with many Leadership Team members who remain actively involved as seniors.
One such person was Victor, who happily continued to work on the team until his early 90’s, folding boxes for the recycling bin after our hectic and messy Food Bank days. Bringing his unique talents, stories and history to his work, he – like other senior members – contribute so much to the daily functioning and spirit of the Mission.
At the same time, many seniors enjoy the opportunity to have a break from their own isolation and loneliness. As I’ve often said to the group, “We’d honestly never be able to do all this without you!”.
Since 2018, the Grace Dart Foundation has generously recognized the efforts of senior members on our Leadership Team by enabling us to offer regular incentives for their efforts, such as purchasing bus passes and grocery store gift cards. We are so grateful for this support and for their reinforcement of senior’s involvement in the community.
Over the past few years, our local MP has presented members of the Leadership Team and others with Volunteer Service Awards to acknowledge their contributions at the mission. Above are three such recipients.
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