Local
Leaside United Church has had a long tradition of supporting a wide range of agencies and institutions at the local level. Past programs supported include Habitat for Humanity, Raising the Roof, Ina Grafton Gage Home, The Fred Victor Mission, and many others.
The current programs we support include:
Yonge Street Mission
Leaside United Church supports the Evergreen Program. Evergreen is a refuge for street-involved youth between the ages of 16- 24. It’s a safe, peaceful place where they can rest for the day, receive care, pursue their dreams and get the hope and encouragement they need to move beyond the harsh realities of their current lifestyle. Here, they find opportunities to grow through counseling, health care, computer access, help with housing and employment preparation. They also find caring staff and volunteers who help them learn to see the world differently and move forward with their lives.
LUC contributed $1,000 financial contribution, plus toiletries and clothing donated by the congregation during Advent. In addition, the Leaside United Church Youth Group also does their own fundraising activities to sponsor a young family at Christmas with a box of gifts.
“A great blessing to worship and serve with the dedicated, inspiring people of Leaside United Church. Also, I am uplifted by our response to God’s call to make the world a more loving, peaceful and healthy place to live by reaching out to those in need.”
Lis & Bob L.
Flemingdon Food Bank
Flemingdon Park Food Bank, provides a vital lifeline to the thousands of people in the Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffee Park communities who struggle each day with food-security. It serves between 300 and 400 families every week, and volunteers work hard to respect the needs and dietary requirements of the culturally diverse neighborhood.
Leaside United Church supports this program with an annual financial contribution of $1,000 and donated food collected from the congregation during Advent.
http://flemingdonfoodbank.com/
Massey Centre
The Massey Centre for Women located in Toronto provides a comprehensive range of programs and services for families and babies with a focus on pregnant and parenting teens. Each year the United Church Women’s group collect knit goods to donate for babies and mothers.
Leaside United Church also provides a financial contribution of $1,000, as well as, a contribution of clothing and toiletries collected during Advent.
Click to go to Massey Centre for Women
Eastminster Out of the Cold
Eastminster’s Out of the Cold program (running from November to March) offers shelter- not judgment – a nourishing meal, access to a nurse, hot showers, and decent used clothing.
Each Friday night this program feeds up to 130 guests, and have room to sleep 45. Overnight guests are fed a hot breakfast Saturday morning and sent on their way with a tasty bag lunch.
The Eastminster Out of the Cold program is run by volunteers and is funded solely through donations from the congregation and community.
Marnie Walker is very much involved in this program and helps organize volunteers for meal service on Friday evenings. LUC provides a $1,000 financial contribution, toiletries and clothing donated by the congregation during Advent, as well as the collection from the Annual Lessons and Carols Service, which is presented by the Leaside United Church Choir, led by our Music Director Sharon Beckstead.
http://www.eastminsteruc.org/social-justice/out-of-the-cold
Community Kitchen
Members of the Community Kitchen continue to learn together about nutrition and food preparation. All improve their cooking skills. The group includes volunteers from LUC and adults with disabilities who have been literacy students at Frontier College. Anyone who visits Leaside United Church on the 3rd Wed. of the month notices the laughter and wonderful cooking smells that drift through the halls of the church. Everyone learns from one another and we are grateful for the sense of community that has come to define us.
Bonnie Mills runs this program with volunteers from the Leaside United Church and financial support from the Outreach Committee.