Shepherds of Good Hope collects winter coats

I saw a tweet this morning. A tweeter was asking if there were any organizations in Ottawa that took winter coat donations. I was quick to reply: We do! And so do a lot of other organizations.

So far this fall, many of us have not needed our winter coats. It's been that mild. But if you had to spend the majority of your day outside, you would discover that it's not actually that mild out there. Some of you are maybe upgrading your winter coat this year. Maybe it's just time to replace the one you have. Maybe you want a different style. A new winter coat might be something on your Christmas wish list.

But that winter coat that's getting replaced can still be put to good use. Every year, we hand out winter coats and other winter clothing to men and women who are homeless in Ottawa. We also hand out clothing to people who live in the community who are struggling to make ends meet. If you have to make a choice between a winter jacket or heating your home, you're going to go without a winter jacket. Our clothing program helps homeless people and others living in poverty get the clothing they need.

So if you have a winter coat you would like to donate, please drop by 233 Murray Street. We have a drop-off window at the back of our parking lot. We have staff here who would love to meet you and accept your donation.

For more information on how to donate, please visit our donation page.

Students getting a charitable education

One of the fun parts of my job is getting a chance to meet with so many students who come to Shepherds of Good Hope for a tour.

Regular readers of my blog know I'm a big believer in everyone getting a firsthand look at what we do. We're very well known for being a shelter and a soup kitchen. Food and shelter are indeed two very important things Ottawa's most vulnerable men and women need. But we are so much more and over our 32 years, we have moved beyond a soup kitchen.

Typically students come for a tour because they want to do something for us. They want to give back to those most in need, especially as we get closer to the holidays. They visit because they want to see the impact their donation is going to have. Quite often it inspires them to exceed their original goal.

Depending on the size of the class, students get a tour of the soup kitchen, the food and grocery program and we also give a short presentation on our other services.

This morning students from Pierre Savard School and Immaculata High School were here. Thank you so much everyone for coming out.

The spirit of giving

Yesterday I blogged about how parents can get their children involved in helping charities.

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting an eight-year-old girl who doesn't need to be taught the spirit of giving.

Hayley spent the last few weeks and the first week of her summer vacation collecting goods and food for Shepherds of Good Hope. She did it by reaching out to her neighbours and area businesses where she lives.

Today, she delivered dozens of bags of clothing as well as cases of food; things like soup, coffee and bottled water.

Hayley is a special girl. Even though she's only eight, she knows there are people in our community who are going without what you and I take for granted. And so she wants to make a difference.

Hayley raised so much that we had to send out one of bigger trucks in order to get it all back to the shelter.

Hayley and her family then stopped by so that we could give them a tour of our soup kitchen and the food/grocery program.

It touches my heart when children want to help us out - either on their own or as part of their class at school.

There's a saying that society is judged by how it treats its least fortunate. (There are quite a few variations of this saying).

Well, let me just say, with children like Hayley, our society has a bright future.