Fall '11 Newsletter How was your summer? We trust you enjoyed the hot summer days, even if they did take their time to get here. Seasons do not make much difference at the Ark. Our clientele and volunteers don't take many holidays! Lots of snow seems to keep some folks home but cold doesn't have much effect. On the hottest days of the summer, people don't line up early but we still serve just as many. One night at the end of July we served 134 – and somehow had enough food. Following is some of what has been happening over the past several weeks. Canada Summer Jobs Grant We applied for and received a Canada Summer Jobs Grant to hire a student to help with our programs. Joshua B., a student at King's College was sitting by my desk offering to volunteer when the call came informing us of the success of our application. I turned to him and said, “Hey, need a job?” and he said, “Yes!” We checked him out and he has been a great help, particularly connecting with our younger clients. We liked him so much we kept him on during August even after the grant ran out. Safe to say, he's learned a lot! New Signs In July we put our new logo and slogan up on the front of the building. Even as they were going up, passersby remarked how much they liked them. While our official name has not changed, more and more we will be known as the Ark to distinguish us from other missions. The signs re-establish our identity with a fresh, bold look. We appreciate the team of professionals who voluntarily designed the logo (and our new brochure) and Craig Davis and Chris Oxner who helped us with the signs. Sidewalk Sale and Wishing Wall On July 16, the Old East residents convened a yard sale day and the area merchants held a sidewalk sale. We always want to be good neighbours, so the Ark joined right in. We served breakfast sandwiches and lunch, put our clients' artwork on display and hosted musical entertainment throughout the day. Last year we had Community Monument Day and this year it was the Wishing Wall. People were asked two questions: 'What do you like about this community?' and 'What will make this a better community?' Answers were written on plywood blocks and then mounted on the west wall of the Ark as a public art exhibit. The responses were interesting and varied – from “Free the chickens” to “Pass the Love – It's Really All We've Got!” It was one of those blistering hot July days but we had a great time getting to know our neighbours and celebrating life in Old East Village – it's not the scary place some think it is! The Ark Aid Street Mission, Inc 696 Dundas Street E., London, Ontario N5W 2Z4 Tel. 519-667-0322 Fax: 226-289-3045 E-mail: info@arkaidmission.com Web: www.arkaidmission.com
Arts and Crafts For a year and a half the Ark has hosted its award-winning art program. Begun by Jeremy J., we now have artists at work most evenings thanks to the demand and some great assistants. Some pictures have been sold with proceeds to purchase more supplies and others are hanging in local businesses and the Palace Theatre. Our dining room actually looks like an art gallery! This summer we have added a crafts program, with the help and direction of Sarah and Elaine. Crafts can be made out of just about anything and you can sense the fun folks are having Friday afternoons as they work and visit together. In the picture, Vijay is weaving a milk-bag mat to be sent to Africa for kids to sleep on. Prison Chains Broken From August 12-19 the Ark cooperated with Freedom Community Church, Hebron Ministries and Pay It Forward Productions to host the recording of six stories of men who each spent decades in prison but whose encounter with God changed their lives. The stories were collected by Ernie Hollands (and included his own story). In book form, the stories are distributed by prison ministries throughout the world. Audio recordings will make them accessible to those who cannot read. Local actors were hired to read the stories. In the picture, Dan of London Community Players is preparing to read a story. Another example of using the Ark's great facilities to reach out and care! New Van In the last newsletter we mentioned the need to replace our van, used to collect food and run errands. Over the summer, it developed more problems and we had to make a decision. No one presented the Ark with a new van, but something almost as good happened. Over the course of the year sufficient funds have come in, along with generous help from London City Chrysler Jeep Dodge so that we purchased a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan with 60,000 km. This should serve us for a number of years. Thanks to everyone! Our next event is Saturday, October 1, when we hope to have lots of teams and cyclists in the 10, 25 or 50 km Ride for Refuge. You can ride, organize a team or sponsor a rider. Funds raised will go towards the Ark's operating expenses. See the enclosed bookmark for more details. Pass this information on to a cyclist you know. Call us to register or visit www.rideforrefuge.org. Back to the Future So, those were some of the highlights of summer at the Ark. Rather than taking it easy, we have added new programs and tried new things. We still served a meal six nights a week, even though the teams who came to serve often were small because of holidays. Our staff was able to get some holidays, too. We've also had some interesting food donations which have kept the meals nutritious and varied. It is always good to hear someone remark on how much they enjoyed their meal – and we hear that often. What about this fall? We expect the number of folks coming for our services to continue to climb, given that London has the highest unemployment rate of any major city in Canada. We have some more work to do in the building, such as re-jigging our heating system to get more heat to the fireside room and the basement where the donated clothes are stored and sorted. There is also some work to be done to maintain the front of the building. There will be lots of new volunteers, particularly students to integrate into the programs and hopefully some of them will bring new skills and interests so we can do some more new things. There will be people who need encouragement and direction. There will be tears and victory. Thank you for your support – it is used in the most interesting and varied ways to help people. Doug Whitelaw Executive Director Reach
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