Check It Out: Faith communities are the backbone of many charities
By Joan Janzen
It’s the season for giving, and kids have their lists ready. One parent said that every year, her son asks for a Costco-size box of hot pockets, and his grandparents happily oblige.
Another mom said her four-year-old daughter asked for two things: a green present with a yellow star and a box of Raisin Bran. “So I bought her a box of Raisin Bran, wrapped it in green paper, and made a yellow star to put on it,” her mom said. “You would have thought she won the lottery, she was so happy.”
Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to make people happy, and this is the season where many charities are doing their best to do just that. December is also acknowledged as Christian Heritage Month in over 40 cities and municipalities across Canada, a time to recognize the contribution of faith communities.
Many charities are provided by churches throughout Canada. “No doubt there would be a gaping hole without the faith community who help those in need in our communities,” Faytene Grasseschi from Faytene TV observed. “They are the backbone of many charities.”
One of those charities is called CityServe, a network of charities and non-profit organizations that receive and redistribute new donated goods to people who need them in communities across Canada.
Pastor Randy Neilson from Brampton, Ontario said the organization began in Canada three years ago, when he was approached by friends in the US. “I was approached by friends in the CityServe in the States who were receiving gifts in kind of all kinds from retailers, and they invited Canada to come on board,” he explained. Now, they are sharing $70 million worth of products with charities across the country.
Now, truckloads of goods from retailers all over the world go to warehouses at Niagara, Brampton, Windsor, Sudbury, Bradford, Ottawa, and Montreal. In western Canada, distribution hubs are located in Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert. “We are in central part of Canada where there is lots of retail activity, but we have a gap in Manitoba and Alberta,” Pastor Neilson said.
“We would love to be in BC, but it has a difficulty we’re working on.” BC’s provincial government charges PST on gifts in kind donations. “We have partners on the ground, and we’re ready to go; we just need the government to change their policy,” he said.
Another challenge is transportation, since it’s very expensive to move products from province to province. They could also use some extra warehouse space in some areas and welcome charities that can accept truckloads of goods. “We are being blessed with an abundance of goods; there is no lack right now,” he said.
Pastor Neilson would love to see more local churches have CityServe spaces in their churches, becoming little warehouses where their members could redistribute goods to people in need in their communities. “They could become the hands and feet of Jesus” he said.
And that is what Christmas is all about. Someone once said this quote: “Do as much good as you can, as long as you can, any way you can, wherever you can, for anyone you can, until you no longer can.”
New products are donated by major retailers from all over the world, and the biggest benefit is families in need are being blessed with goods they can’t afford. Pastor Neilson shared one of the thousands of examples.
“We were working with a boys and girls club, and I got a couple of laptops,” he said. “We very seldom receive computers, but I was able to bring it to a young girl heading to high school. She was living in a challenging neighbourhood, number five in the family, and never thought she would have a laptop.”
New products are often donated because of packaging changes. “They’re all brand new items and we’re blessed to give them out to other charities that really care for the community. It’s amazing!” Pastor Neilson concluded.
CityServe would love to have more partners and make an even bigger impact on communities. Interested organizations can contact office@cityserve.ca