Welcome Hall helps 1,200 children back to school
MONTREAL, QC—With the support of several local companies, a number of area churches and dozens of volunteers, Welcome Hall Mission provided school supplies, as well as toys, clothes and shoes for children from several hundred inner-city families.
"The back to school season, along with Christmas, is one of our biggest regular outreaches of the year," explains Tania Togias, the mission's director of family services. "And it is one of the points of the year where needy families are most affected by their limited budgets."
The distribution of the school supplies kits was planned as a one-day event on August 20.
Togias says the bulk of the families who received supplies already had contact with some of the mission's other services. This approach of repeated contacts for developing long-term relationships with individuals and families in need rather than one-time giveaways is part of a strategy communications director David Lussier highlights as part of the "new vision" for work in the inner city.
Some companies provided gifts in kind to help the children over and above the basic school supplies purchased with funds from the mission's general budget. Among these gifts were running shoes, clothes and toys. Togias notes that one board member is dedicated to making contacts with local companies to solicit gifts in kind.
While all the volunteers were appreciated, one received special attention. The antics of the Montreal Alouettes' mascot Touché helped make the long lineup seem a little shorter.
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