Tag Archive: volunteers

  1. Summer Heroes

    Comments Off on Summer Heroes

    What if you simply couldn’t afford the food your child needed to be well?

    That’s an issue that I must face each day.  

    My name is Jessica. My 9 year old son, David, lives with a disability. His doctors say he has to avoid processed foods with lots of salt and sugar because they can make his condition worse.

    As you know, it’s much easier to afford processed foods than it is to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and whole grains.  It can be such a struggle just to get a healthy meal on the table.

    That’s why I am so grateful for North York Harvest Food Bank as well as the donors and volunteers that make these programs possible. Being able to visit the food bank makes giving David the food he needs so much easier.

    I know how much these foods matter to families using food banks, not just from the impact they make in my home, but through my volunteer work. I’ve been volunteering at the food bank for as long as I’ve been a client. When we have fresh food to offer, I watch my neighbours faces light up.

    I come home from every volunteer shift knowing I made a difference.

    And we need YOU to help us make a difference more than ever this summer!

    Summer is a difficult time at the food bank. Food donations aren’t as frequent so we have less food to share. With the kids out of school, they don’t have access to school food programs that are vital to their health.

    So many of the families I see at the food bank are going through the same thing. This is why your support is so important right now.

    By making a gift to North York Harvest, they can purchase the food our communities need, so no one is forced to go without during the summer.

    I know what a difference your support of the food bank  makes. Every time I sit down with my kids at the table to share a meal, I feel grateful that I’m part of a community that cares so much about each other.  

    Be a Summer Hero and your impact will be TRIPLED this summer. Every $1 you give, will be stretched to $3 worth of meals for people in need of food in your community! DONATE TODAY!

  2. Leave Hunger Behind

    Comments Off on Leave Hunger Behind

    We’re kicking off the 2017 Fall Food Drive and we want YOU to be a part of it!

    Your participation allows us to support food banks, food education programs, community kitchens and more.  These programs not only help people access food but bring people together all year long!

    Leave Hunger Behind this fall

    bank_cash_coin_coupon_discount_money_piggy_sale_save_saving-512Make a Donation

    Cash donations make sure we can purchase the healthy food our community needs when donated food supplies can’t meet the need.  You can even make your own fundraising page to share with friends and family here!

     

    082207-green-jelly-icon-business-cart5Run a Food & Fund Drive

    Get your friends, family and coworkers together.  Be creative and have fun while giving back.

     

    Donate Food

    The best items to collect for the food bank are canned fish, canned beans, canned tomatoes, cooking oil and rice.  

     

    hand-heart-iconVolunteer

    There are many ways to volunteer! Join us in the food bank, warehouse, on the truck, at events or in the office.

     

    conference-512Get Social

    Spread the word on all of your social media accounts.

     

    You can make a difference in the lives of 15,000 parents, children and grandparents that rely on food banks every month. THANK YOU!

    Subscribe to Our Enewsletter

    * indicates required



     


  3. More Than a Food Bank

    Comments Off on More Than a Food Bank

    Each year we are blown away by the support from our community!  Without you we wouldn’t be able to make a difference for more than 15,000 people that struggle to put food on the table each month.

    View as PDF

  4. Thanksgiving Media Day

    2 Comments

    October 8, 2017

    10am-12pm / 1pm-3pm

    Every year, during our Fall Food Drive we invite the media to our office and warehouse. This event allows the media to focus attention on food insecurity in our communities during Thanksgiving.

    The media will film and photograph volunteers sorting food in our warehouse and interview staff.

    We’re looking forward to welcoming families to sort food with us on media day.

    We will have 2 sorting sessions: 10am to noon and 1pm to 3pm.  During the afternoon session we will be visited by Mayor John Tory members of the Northern Heroes – local superheroes dedicated to fighting hunger!

    Media inquiries – please contact Aniska Ali at aniska@northyorkharvest.com / 416-635-7771 x 26

     

     

  5. Research Assistants Needed

    Comments Off on Research Assistants Needed

    Exciting Volunteer Opportunity

     

    Food Security Research Assistants

    We are looking for volunteers to assist our organization to collect data by distributing self-administered surveys to our food bank clients. These surveys will be administered between June 1 and July 7.  Volunteers will be working with our Evaluation Coordinator.

    Duties:

    • Recruit food bank clients for a customer satisfaction survey at 15 neighbourhood food banks across North York
    • Assist with data collection by distributing self-administered surveys to food bank clients during

    Food bank opening hours (vary by location)

    • Assist clients with survey completion where necessary
    • Ensure the completeness of the survey where possible
    • Ensure client confidentiality at all times
    • Assist with data coding, data entry, and data verification using Excel

    Qualifications

    • Have experience in survey research or have strong interest in learning about survey research
    • Have an understanding of food security or have strong interest in learning about food security
    • Have the ability to travel to and from Food Banks that are part of North York Harvest’s Agency

    Network

    • Understand the importance of client confidentiality and data integrity
    • Understand anti-oppression and anti-oppression practices
    • Possess good interpersonal skills
    • Possess data entry skills (accuracy and speed) would be an asset
    • Have the ability to speak other languages besides English (e.g. Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish) would be an asset

    For more information please contact:

    Irene Cheung, Evaluation Coordinator at irene@northyorkharvest.com

     116 Industry St. Toronto ON M6M 4L8, Telephone: 416-635-7771 Fax: 416-635-5599

  6. Everyday Hero

    Comments Off on Everyday Hero

    Guest blog by Shirah Stern

    Not all heroes wear capes.

    One everyday hero located right in your community is Kayla*. I recently had the opportunity to meet Kayla at the North York Harvest Annual General Meeting back in February. We were in a workshop together and she shared her experiences as a food bank volunteer. I needed to hear more so I could share her story with you.

    Kayla has been a volunteer at her local food bank for more than two years dedicating her time six days per week. This is quite incredible as Kayla suffers from many health issues such as a degenerative disk disease in her back, panic attacks, insomnia and is waiting to have knee surgery. This doesn’t stop our hero though; she chooses to work through the pain to make a difference in the lives of her neighbours in need. “If I could have sleepovers here I would!” jokes Kayla.

    Kayla’s tasks at the food bank include receiving deliveries, stocking shelves, serving clients and records management. She even packs and delivers food hampers for the “Fresh Start” program that does home deliveries for seniors as well as those unable to physically make it to the food bank. The services she and her other fellow volunteers provide benefit children, families, seniors, those with disabilities and people who can’t leave their home.

    A typical food hamper from a NYH food bank

    A typical food hamper from a NYH food bank

    Regardless of Kayla’s health problems, she feels that giving her time at the food bank gives her something else to focus on and a purpose. She strives to make a difference in the lives of her fellow neighbours. This can be done through her daily food bank tasks or even going above and beyond to help someone in need. One particular story of Kayla’s is a time that she was able to assist a client with her job search. The client had needed to know CPR in order to be eligible for a job but could not afford the training. Kayla took the time to research and found a course that was offered for free.

    Kayla told me that seeing a smile on the face of someone she has helped is so rewarding in her work.

    It absolutely blows me away when I see this kind of dedication from volunteers. And it is throughout the network! Each day volunteers take time out of their day to come in and help their neighbours meet their food needs.

    Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to have incredible stories like this to share. From you to me, me to Kayla, Kayla to the client and back to you again – we are really part of something bigger than ourselves. I feel that being able to share these stories truly closes the circle of connectivity in our community

    Join Kayla in being a community hero!

    Together we all work as a community to make a difference for more than 15,000 people that access these types of programs each month!

    Donate today!

    Volunteer!

    *Name changed

    Subscribe to Our Enewsletter

    * indicates required








     

  7. Volunteer Appreciation 2017

    Comments Off on Volunteer Appreciation 2017

    We absolutely LOVE our volunteers!  Every year they come in to sort food, help with pickups and deliveries, help people directly in the food banks, assist in the warehouse, give a hand in the office and so much more!

    Without YOU we wouldn’t be able to ensure that more than 15,000 people in our city have access to the food they need.  THANK YOU!

    We wanted to thank you in a special way so we made a fun video for our incredible volunteers.  Volunteer appreciation week is April 23-29 so don’t forget to hug a volunteer and show them some love!

    Want to join the team?

    Click here for more info or contact Lisa at 416-635-7771 x 29 or lisa@northyorkharvest.com

    Subscribe to Our Enewsletter

    * indicates required








  8. Giving Back: A Family Affair

    Comments Off on Giving Back: A Family Affair

    Sometimes little things and family traditions can make a big impact.

    Not too long ago I had a chance to meet with one of our many wonderful donors; to get to know her and her family a little better and understand why they choose to give to North York Harvest.

    Meet Lynn & Andrew.

    I stopped by their home in North York one afternoon as Lynn was preparing a spaghetti dinner for her son Andrew before he headed off to Air Cadets.

    lynn & andrew

    Lynn, a lawyer and community volunteer, has always wanted her son Andrew to know that he has advantages that other people right in his own community do not have.  Lynn told us that when Andrew was as young as five years old he was already making a difference and giving to the food bank.  “Every time we went to the grocery store, Andrew would pick groceries out to donate for little boys his own age.  We called it ‘The Little Boy Box’.”

    That sense of giving back to his community never left Andrew.  Years later he joined his classmates during a volunteer session at North York Harvest.  He enjoyed his experience so much that he became a summer volunteer at the Lawrence Heights Community Food Space to help his neighbours access healthy food.

    Andrew’s commitment inspired Lynn to become a NYHFB supporter. “It’s sad to see that some families don’t have enough.  We all deserve to have our basic needs met. I feel good knowing that my donations will go towards helping people in need,” shares Lynn. “Anybody could need a food bank at any time. This shouldn’t be the norm.”

    Giving back to the community and ensuring their neighbours meet their food needs continues to be a tradition.

    And even though Andrew is all grown up, Lynn makes sure to put a few extra items in her cart for the “Little Boy Box” when she’s at the grocery store.

    Do you want to get more involved like Lynn and Andrew? We’d love to have you join us!

    Give your time and become a volunteer!

    Run a food drive to support your neighbours in need!

    Donate today to ensure people at the food bank can access healthy food!

    Subscribe to Our Enewsletter

    * indicates required