Delivering Sweet Messages of Hope in Whitby

At this time, with families and friends not being able to get together, any little type of social contact can make all the difference.

To connect with the community, The Salvation Army in Whitby has been handing out Neighbourhood Treats – a bag of chocolate with a positive message of encouragement attached. So far, 500 bags of donated chocolate goodies have been distributed to homes in the area surrounding the church.

“The response from the community has been tremendous. We’ve been hearing from people  saying how we are taking the time to invest in the community in this way,” said Major Donette Percy, the church officer in Whitby along with her husband, Ken.

Major Donette said she’s heard many positive stories from nurses on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus who have come home after a long shift to find a message of support at their door. Seniors living alone or those receiving medical treatment have also been appreciative of the supportive words as they are unable to meet up with friends or family.

To maintain a connection to the Whitby community, The Salvation Army in Whitby has also joined a new online organization called Caremongers Whitby, a 2,000-member strong Facebook group with the goal of sharing, organizing, and delivering community resources in response to COVID-19 restrictions. Their grassroots community of help seeks to “ensure vulnerable community members, and anyone who needs them, have access to necessities.” Members of the group can post their needs for products, aid, and support or services and help they can provide to others. Once a posted task has been completed, it is marked with ‘Done’ to prevent duplication. Members of the group are going grocery shopping for each other, or those who can’t get to a store on their own are delivering food to those in need, including clients of The Salvation Army food bank.

Simple actions can make a difference in uncertain times, such as Major Donette reaching out to the Caremongers for burnable CDs to make copies of The Salvation Army’s church services, given that traditional services are not being held during COVID-19. In no time, the church received the CDs from the community and the services were distributed in “Take Out Church” bags to members.

Currently, 50-70 households are using the food bank each week, and demand is increasing during COVID-19.

“Many friends have not utilized the services of the food bank before and find themselves having to during COVID-19. This puts tremendous pressure on families and the food banks to help supply food at this time,” Major Donette said.

The food bank is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.  Contact them by calling 905-430-3454 or send a message through the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WhitbySalvationArmy/.

If you live in Whitby or area and would like to help out. The Caremongers Whitby Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/groups/1239844526211724

If you would like to support the work of The Salvation Army please call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or www.salvationarmy.ca

By: Chris McGregor