| Wednesday, August 22, 6:30 - 9:30 pm. | |
| The Centre for Spirituality at Work | |
| invites you to an evening potluck barbeque | |
| WORK FOR THE HOMELESS: MAKING A DIFFERENCE | |
| Please join us for a relaxed summer potluck dinner at David
Walsh's home near St.Clair Avenue and Mount Pleasant Rd. in Toronto. This is a first step
in a new program of the Centre for Spirituality at Work, "Work for the Homeless:
Making a Difference". We who are part of the community of the Centre are thankful for
our consciousness and our good actions regarding the work of both ourselves and of others.
We may be struggling about our vocation, or values, or ethics, or creativity, or money, or
whatever. But in the midst of all this, we are individuals who know we have been gifted,
and have gifts to give. For many of our marginally housed and homeless people, the opportunity to do some work or to volunteer can really help their sense of self-worth - it might be a step towards moving up and out of a very difficult life situation. A small group has just started to meet regarding how the Centre can provide opportunities for our members to help provide work opportunities. As a first step, we are planning the potluck barbeque as just a friendly social and asking people to bring -- in addition to drink & food for our own feast -- non-perishable food to donate plus, if possible, either a request for a 4-hour job at $10 per hour, or an honorarium for homeless volunteers. Your jobs will be managed through LabourLink, an HRDC-funded employment agency for temporary and permanent work for homeless and marginally housed individuals throughout the Greater Toronto Area (www.dixonhall.on.ca/labourlink). Many of the women and men are highly skilled and experienced, and your work can be household, commercial, industrial, etc. What jobs do you need done around your home or business? A new Centre for Spirituality at Work member, Tony Seaward (tseaward@dixonhall.on.ca, 416-860-9991), has just left a major consulting firm to be LabourLink's new Marketing and Outreach Coordinator and will talk with you about ideas for work and look after your job requests at the barbeque. Please contact Tony directly if you can't join us, yet think you might be able to provide a work opportunity. Alternatively, please bring a charitable donation to be used as an honorarium for a homeless volunteer. This will be directed to the Spirit at Work project of Toronto Dollar (www.torontodollar.net). Toronto Dollar is a community currency accepted at par with Canadian dollars at more than 300 St. Lawrence, Riverdale, and Etobicoke businesses. Spirit at Work is a group of agencies that serve the downtown poor. Your donation will be converted at a rate of 110% into Toronto Dollars that these agencies will give as thank you gifts to the homeless volunteers who help them. Long time friend of the Centre for Spirituality at Work, David Walsh (dwalsh@web.ca, 416-361-1124), is founder of the Spirit at Work project, is this year's recipient of the Jane Jacobs award, and will look after your donations at the barbeque. Joy Kogawa, founder of Toronto Dollar, internationally renowned writer and speaker, and Member of the Order of Canada, will have Toronto Dollars for sale. Your food will be received by Sanctuary (www.sanctuaryministries.on.ca), a community near Yonge and Bloor for abused and rejected people, and part of whose philosophy is "If you're willing to share your life with us, we'll share ours with you. We'll encourage you when you mess up, help you find direction when you're not sure which way to go, hold you when you're hurting, and help you discover, strengthen and focus your gifts and abilities. We're here for the long haul." And please mark the evening of Friday November 2 in your calendar for a unique and very special evening at Sanctuary focused on Work for the Homeless: Making a Difference- more on this later. We want this program to become a simple yet ongoing and sustainable part of the Centre, and welcome new members to this visioning, planning, and implementing group. If you would like to be involved with this new initiative, please contact Gary Gradley (gary@deltasynergy.com, 1-905-854-6800) or Linda Somers (lindas@sympatico.ca, 416-638-3838). Our next meeting is Tuesday September 11, 7:00 to 9:00pm, and all are welcome. Please join us for a relaxed summer potluck dinner at David Walsh's home near St.Clair Avenue and Mount Pleasant Rd. If you can come, let Hamo Hammond know (hamoham@idirect.com, 905-508-5222), including what food & drink you're bringing. A barbeque will be available. Hamo will send you the address, directions, and the types of food needed by the Sanctuary. |
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| Centre for Spirituality at Work Transforming the experience and outcomes of work |
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| Last updated Aug 16/01 |