PAULA LABONTE
Do you want to help the homeless and vulnerable in our community but don’t know how to have an real impact? Here are some keys ways to make a difference right here in Cornwall.
Donate unwanted clothes, in in the case of a Agape Centre’s New for You Thrift Shoppe, the clothes are sold to fund the community soup kitchen and food bank, likewise and this is one of my favourite things I didn’t know about, if you have clothes or linens that aren’t good quality, you can still donate them to be recycled by the Agape Centre. You can get a tag that says recycle only it is sent to Diabetes Canada who pays Agape based on weight!
With prices starting at $2, Serendipity’s shop profits are used for local women and children at Baldwin House who need assistance, additionally clients are often given vouchers to shop in both of those thrift shops.
Donate time whether it’s two hours a month or two hours a week you could help an organization make a difference, whether that is chopping up some vegetables or serving up lunch or helping clients through the food bank or sorting through clothes, all actions add up. When you do volunteer be reliable, volunteers with reliability are the backbone of non-profit organizations.
Social media, love it our hate it is a powerful tool. Share a page, share the cause, share an initiative.
Food is always in need and donating food whether it’s items that you no longer want or pick up in the grocery store intentionally to donate. Secondly, if you catering an event and there’s extra drinks, extra boxes of pizza, extra goodies from a bake sale, they can be dropped off if they’re open. Donate toiletries. Have you seen the price of toilet paper and laundry detergent? Buy in bulk and share the spare.
Donate your skills, do you like refinishing furniture or knitting or offering a class in your expertise you can donate the profit of the sales. Organize an event, such as a bake sale and donate the profits, need help with that? Local high school students need volunteer hours. Are you into painting? Any non-profit rarely if ever, has accessible funds for beautification. A few gallons of paint and a few hours of time to freshen up a wall changes the experience of clients coming in.
Do what you can-when you can. Also: be kind and be gracious, staff at these organizations are underpaid and overworked and clients are likely dealing with challenges you may not understand.
