2022-23 Program

 Our program runs from November 2022 to the end of April 2023. FIOOTC is still recruiting volunteers to help with the following tasks:

• community hall set-up (Tues. afternoon)
• kitchen prep (Tues. afternoon)
• dinner packaging (Tues. afternoon)
• dinner serving – outdoor takeaway and indoor reduced-capacity seated (Tues. late afternoon/evening)
• guest relations (Tues. late afternoon/evening)

Our schedule is quite full but openings and cancellations will likely occur.

For more information or to register to volunteer, please contact Sharna Cohen at sharna.cohen@rogers.com

January 2022

Tuesday Takeaway Dinner at St. Matthew’s

While we’re actively engaged in our current efforts  to support several street outreach programs, we want to do more! We’re eager to return to St. Matthew’s to provide support to the vulnerable folks who avail themselves of services there.  So we’re in the process of planning a hot, catered takeaway dinner on TUESDAY evenings, to be distributed from the church.

Here are some details about this initiative:

• Starting in January or early February (date TBD), for 16 weeks.
• Tuesdays 5:00-8:00pm
• Short shifts – 60 minutes. Mostly outdoors, or at open doors.  Warm clothing is a must! Brief opportunities will be available to warm up indoors.
• COVID safety protocols – KN95 masks will be provided and must be worn properly and at all times; proof of full vaccination (including booster) required; on-site symptom screening; contact details must be provided; physical distancing; open doors for ventilation; limited volunteer numbers; virtually no indoor contact.
• Guests will wait in line, distanced, masked, outdoors in the parking lot.
• Tasks:
  • Guest relations – 5:00-6:00pm or 6:00-7:00pm
  • Set-up – 5:00-6:00pm
  • Dinner Pick-up from caterer – 5:00pm
  • Dinner service – 6:00-7:00pm
  • Clean-up – 7:00-8:00pm
• The dinners will arrive fully-cooked, hot and individually pre-packaged.  Water and fruit will be added, the meals will be bagged and distributed from the open, street-level foyer doors (a heater for volunteers will be in use).  Coffee and tea will be served from 5:00-7:00pm.

We’re canvassing our volunteers to determine support for this initiative. We’re hoping committing and stalwart folks with good outdoor gear will be willing to help out.  If you’re interested, please use this Doodle survey to indicate the tasks you’d be willing to perform and your availability.

https://doodle.com/poll/ia27c7dr27n496zt?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link

We recognize that these are fraught and challenging times!  But with a clear eye towards safety and risk management, we hope to provide much-needed comfort and care to our vulnerable and isolated guests at St. Matthew’s.  We hope you’ll join us!

For more information, please contact Sharna Cohen at sharna.cohen@rogers.com

December 2021

Volunteers Needed to Assist with Christmas Tree Sales

We currently have a need for volunteers to assist with Christmas tree sales, the proceeds of which fund a major portion of our budget.  For information about locations and signing up, please contact: Sharna Cohen at sharna.cohen@rogers.com

TASKS

1. Greeters – Greeting and directing people at the lot entrances.

2. Tree Loaders – Assisting with carrying and loading trees onto customers’ cars.

 You can choose which of these two tasks is most suitable for you.

SHIFT DATES

SHIFT HOURS:

Fridays: 4:00-8:00pm

• One person/task/shift, is preferred. No more that 2 people/task/shift please. Unfortunately, due to capacity and vaccine concerns, groups/families can’t be accommodated.
• All volunteers must be fully (2 shots) vaccinated.
• Masks must be worn (and worn properly) throughout the shift.

Other Volunteer Opportunities

At this time, the need for regular volunteer involvement is minimal.  A small team of shoppers, sandwich-makers and drivers is in place.

As plans evolve, new opportunities will be posted here and we’ll be in touch with our veteran volunteers.

Pre-COVID:  Volunteer Information

Click here to play our trivia game and learn more about us!

We welcomed anyone willing to sign on, learn the ropes under the guidance of a Team Lead or experienced volunteer and become part of a working team. The attitude required was one of respect for all, a commitment to treat each guest with dignity, while understanding the need for orderly behaviour and observance of protocols and guidelines.

Many tasks, with varying degrees of guest contact, were needed to deliver the program on a weekly basis and all were crucial to our success. We could not have maintained the program without the energy and effort of all our volunteers. Youth over the age of 14 were welcome to attend on their own. Youth between the ages of 12 and 14 were required to be accompanied by a supervising parent or a participating sibling or friend over the age of 16. Due to safety concerns in our tight space, children under the age of 12 were not able to participate.

Volunteers chose a shift that best fitted their interest, comfort level, availability and program need. In the event that a shift was over-subscribed, volunteers may have been asked to staff a different shift or to attend with less frequency.

NEW VOLUNTEER INFORMATION MEETING

To recruit new volunteers at the start of each season and to provide information about our program and the various volunteering options, a brief New Volunteer Information Meeting was scheduled at the end of Octo

VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP FORM

If you’re not able to attend the New Volunteer Information Meeting or you’d like to join us once the season is in progress, please complete this online form.

Link to online form:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&formkey=dGpSLXFHYzhnZEtYN2hUR3V2LUxvN2c6MQ

Or contact the Volunteer Coordinators – Sharna Cohen and Mary Hanson at sharna.cohen@rogers.com or mary.hanson.md@gmail.com

THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Being part of the First Interfaith Out of the Cold community has been extremely gratifying for many of us over the years. The opportunity to bridge the gap of isolation and to connect simply as one person to another can be an enriching and humanizing experience for all involved in those interactions. To contribute just a bit of your time and effort to provide some comfort and care, is a gift. We hope you’ll join us.

Volunteers have said the following about what they’ve enjoyed at First Interfaith Out of the Cold:

“I’ve made good friends with volunteers”

“It’s a wonderful interfaith experience”

“It’s a very grounded experience. It’s important to get off the 20th floor of an office building and make connections with people I see sitting on the sidewalk.”

“Giving back to the community, sharing, a sense of duty”

“Helping people who’ve slipped through every crack, at a really bad time of year”

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know the guests, the way people find a way to manage in their difficult lives, the pride and self-acceptance the guests seem to have with themselves.”

“It’s interesting when I meet guests on the street. One guest who always told me bad jokes when he came to OOTC, jumped up from his milk crate on Spadina when I saw him there and told me a bad joke.”

“Showing respect and sharing a smile each cold Thursday night.”

Important Information

Much as we would have loved to feed our volunteers as well as our guests, our budget was very limited and unfortunately, there was not enough food to go around. We asked that volunteers please eat at home before or after attending the program.

Volunteers were responsible for ensuring the safety of their own personal property while in the program. It was strongly advised that valuables be left at home or kept on their person. An unattended cloak room was available for storing coats.

Appropriate, non-revealing attire was required.

While warm and positive connections could develop between volunteers and guests and despite the fact that their needs were great, it was strongly recommended that volunteers did not share personal contact information with guests, lend them money, invite them to their home or arrange to meet outside of the program. Any questions or concerns about contact with the guests were discussed with the Volunteer Coordinators.

St. Matthew’s Church was easily reached by public transit. The St. Clair West subway station is a 15 minute walk to the east of the church. The 512 St. Clair streetcar passed in front of the building and the 126 Christie bus stopped one block to the east of the church.

There was limited parking in the small lot on the east side of the church. Everyone refrained from parking in the Minister’s spot! There was metered street parking on St. Clair until 9:00 p.m. and the parking officers were vigilant, so volunteers were advised to be sure to pay for parking. There was free street parking on nearby side streets. On many of these streets, parking was restricted to one side of the street which switched at mid-month. Also late-night parking on residential streets was from midnight to 7:00 or 8:00 a.m., was by permit only and was strictly enforced!

The program was in constant need of clean, good quality men’s and women’s casual clothing. Sweatpants, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, winter coats and boots were required.  Donations of business attire was not accepted. Also needed were travel-size toiletries, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Used kitchenware, such as: soup bowls, mugs, cutlery, kitchen knives and scissors, knife sharpener, can openers, ice cream scoops, cutting boards, tea towels and oven mitts, were also needed.