As partners of Shaw, we had the pleasure of being invited to join them in their volunteer efforts at the Calgary Drop-In Centre. Two members of our team, Troy McIsaac and Christine Dalton, spent most of last Friday there with the team from Shaw. Both of them were impressed with the work that’s being done at the centre.
Troy McIsaac (Sales Manager for Total Communication Services) was impressed with all that the Drop-In Centre was doing to help combat homelessness and poverty in Calgary.
He said,
“It was truly an amazing experience to understand the nature of the Calgary Drop-In Center and how they help when people are in need; whether a person is temporarily down on their luck and just needing a boost to some longer term assistance.
The downtown location offers numerous programs for their temporary residents, from woodworking to art; while their Northern location provides the ability to donate items such as furniture and clothes for people transitioning out of the drop in center, helping them get set up in their new homes.
The volunteer coordinator team made it easy to help and Jordan Hamilton provided us with a tour to help us truly understand the nature of how they help those in need and how businesses and individuals can help, from money and donations, to volunteering time.
The Drop-In Center is truly an amazing place, one that we plan on continuing to support.”
“I never knew how much they do there at the centre, how much they help” said Christine Dalton, Total Communication Services Carrier specialist, “my experience, of my first time at the Calgary drop-in centre, was interesting. We split up into 2 groups. One group did a tour of the building and all the floors, the other went into the kitchen to do lunch prep, I was part of the kitchen group doing lunch prep.
We made soup and sandwiches and set up a huge pile before opening the window for service. Then the other group (that had taken the tour) took the food out to everyone waiting in the dining hall. It was fun watching the food being delivered to people in need. There were people lined up all the way down the stairs waiting for a hot meal.
Once every one was fed, even the ones going down the stairs, we closed the window up and put away the rest of the food for later (We had put sandwiches into baggies with granola bars to hand out to people who were not able to get in or for people who came late for lunch).
When we were walking through the hall to the other side to leave, everyone at the tables were clapping and thanking us for our help and service. It made me feel good that I was able to help.”
From Health services, to counseling and support, from shelter for those who are in need of it, to Employment education and seniors programs, the work that is being done there is truly incredible and our team was happy to have been a small part of it.
There is so much good being done across our city to help those who need it. We’ve all had times in our lives when we’ve needed a helping hand and, as Tim McGraw says,
"When you get where you're goin'
Don't forget to turn back around
Help the next one in line
Always stay humble and kind"
We were glad to have a chance to do that, thanks to the team at Shaw for organizing it and a big thank you to the Calgary Drop-In Centre for their tireless work in helping change people’s lives!
As they say in their mission statement “People aren’t born on the street, nor do their lives have to end there. With help, the Calgary Drop-In Centre is where some lives begin.”
(If you’d like to help, you can donate or volunteer by clicking the hyperlinks or by applying on the Calgary Drop-In Centre’s website at www.calgarydropin.ca, they can use all the help they can get.)