St. Stephen's-In-The-Fields

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:44:59 -0400

St. Stephen's maintains a substantial commitment to working with the homeless of Toronto. Cooperation with other parishes helps us to continue to reach beyond ourselves to serve those who are in special need. By reason of its location and the history of its work with the needy, St. Stephen’s continues to be a site to which others, looking for opportunities to exercise a ministry, may come. An important dimension of St. Stephen’s mission is our ability to share with others in outreach work. Our work continues fifty-two weekends each year through ministries of food and hospitality, and in the past year we have served close to 7,000 meals. Our regular contact with the homeless reminds us that these folk are people like ourselves who through various circumstances, not least of which is sometimes mere luck, have no housing.

Saturday morning Breakfast Program: Many people, especially young people from all around Toronto, have the opportunity of direct work with homeless and low-income people through this Saturday morning ministry.

Sunday morning Breakfast Program: Parishioners from St. Stephen's welcome guests with a free nourishing meal in a friendly atmosphere prior to the morning service.

Love Knits was able to give a bunch of scarves and hats to the St. Stephen’s breakfast program this past winter. On some of the coldest days of winter this year we were able to hand out many gifts to a number of people who call the streets home.

To donate goods to this program, or volunteer with the breakfast program contact:

Jim Sutherland
416-921-6350
rentsaintstephens@yahoo.ca
http://www.saintstephens.ca/

* This is an incredible breakfast program and wonderful opportunity for individuals or small groups to get involved in their community in a new way. The mornings are early, but well worth the effort to get out of bed!!

Skate 4 Cancer

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:44:40 -0400

Last fall I was motivated by the life and passion of a friend. Rob Dyer is the heart and spirit behind the global Skate4Cancer movement. He’s got an incredible story; which has moved him to do great things for cancer research and education. If you don’t have a clue, check out www.skate4cancer.com.

Naturally, as I was thinking about him and his mission, I thought about how I might be able to get LOVE Knits involved. How might one possibly connect two of the world’s greatest past-times, skate boarding and crochet?

Rob literally skates across countries to raise awareness and money for cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, and other national hospitals. I thought LOVE Knits could serve through loving the cancer patients themselves, specifically those who have had to undergo chemotherapy. These treatments often leave patients with no hair, many of them women and children, taking from them the security blanket so many of us take for granted. LOVE Knits isn’t the cure for cancer, but it is the cure for a cold head! If you’re an avid knitter or crocheter consider partnering with a local hospital that has a cancer ward and donating hats of all colours and sizes to them to be gifted to their chemo patients.

Some might have personal or familial reasons for getting involved with this project, others may be inspired by the S4C cause and want to be a part of it, others still may just be looking to find an outlet to serve with their skills. I’m writing this for all of you to give you an idea of just one of many ways in which you can LOVE with yarn.

On behalf of S4C,

Skate4Cancer:
www.skate4cancer.com

The Princess Margaret Hospital
http://www.pmhf.ca/index.html

The Romania Project

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:44:49 -0400

Since 2001, The Romania Project (International Teams) has brought teams to work with the orphan children of Romania. To date over 100 volunteers have given of their love, time, and lives. The Romania Project is committed to seeing hope instilled in the young lives of those who have suffered at the hand of abandonment. As the program director I am constantly thinking of what I can be doing to help the kids pass the time and fill their long days of Summer. I also have the pleasure of being a high school teacher and one day thought of the idea of bringing Love Knits and Julie to teach my students how to crochet/knit while at the same time raising their awareness of the need to be warm and to be loved. Currently my students are working on creating hand made "love projects" that will be brought over to Romania to bless those whom we know and so dearly love. It doesn't stop there, this Summer I will be collecting and bringing over yarn and crochet hooks to teach our kids and young adults in Romania to crochet. We are always trying to teach them to reach out and now they will be able to use these practical "love projects" by blessing those in need within their own community. Love Knits is a beautiful idea that has turned into a worldwide phenomenon of caring and reaching out practically to those who desperately need it. I feel so blessed to be apart of it and I anticipate all that is to come.

Joni Allardyce

If you are interested in contributing to the Romania Project-Love Knits Project please contact me:

joni@theromaniaproject.com
www.theromaniaproject.com

Safe Light

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:43:59 -0400

Safe Light - a program run by Youth Unlimited (Toronto Youth for Christ)- is a specialized outreach to teenage girls involved in, or vulnerable to, sexually exploitive or life-changing circumstances. They are committed to meeting the needs of teenage girls who are active in or at risk of involvement in, the sex trade, and are victims of sexual abuse. Last Christmas, the Safe Light team decided to hold a Christmas Party for the girls involved in their program. They rented a hotel room, planned to order pizzas, go for a swim, watch movies - just provide a safe and fun night for girls who are victims of the ugliest part of our society! As a volunteer, I was eager to help out. A hobby of mine is to sew together used Kool Aid Jammer pouches and make book bags. I decided I would make 11 bags for the girls. Then, I thought, why not fill the bags??? Well, because I know so many amazing women, offers and donations came piling in. I contacted Jules, because I had remembered that quite a few of our summer staff at Muskoka Woods were busy knitting scarves. So, I asked her if she had 11 she could donate! Well, she ended up giving me a box full of beautifully made scarves, mittens and hats. We chose the best and added them to our gift bags. Then gave the rest to the program so they could be given out as needed. So, along with the knitted items, we included make up, candy, chocolate, home made cookies, and much much more. The girls were so beautiful as they opened their bags - it was truly like Christmas morning. For a few fleeting moments, they were little girls again - a place of innocence that they have long forgotten. I've been told that "free" stuff is extra important to girls or boys who are involved in the sex trade - because very rarely do they get anything that they haven't had to "work" for. Thank you Love Knits, for sharing your "loveknits"!!

Diane Huff

To donate goods to this program, get in touch by contacting:

Light Patrol Director: 1.877.331.3327
lightpatrol@youthunlimitedgta.com
http://www.lightpatrol.ca

Back To School

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:29:05 -0400

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting a friend’s high school class to teach and talk about LOVE Knits. The students learned in advance about our time together so they had a few weeks to prepare for it by arriving to class with yarn, crochet hooks and knitting needles. I had an awesome morning hanging out with a bunch of students and helping them grasp the fundamentals of knitting and crochet. They were motivated and their eagerness was so encouraging! On the subway ride home I was thinking about how great my morning was and how simple it was to organize such a time. I’d love to see schools bring knitting programs back, and get involved in projects like LOVE Knits that encourage community and personal development amongst students while instilling in them the vision to look beyond themselves and into the lives and needs of others.

This is a note to teachers, students or parents who know how to knit or crochet: JUST DO IT! Book a date and time in your homeroom and then find a couple others who can help teach (or learn together using this site), plan ahead, make sure students come to school prepared and then have a YARN-PARTY!!!

Check out the Love Pics section