Souls Harbour Rescue Mission

The snow has arrived, and with it, the sense that Christmas is on it’s way!  This Christmas there are many opportunities for Souls Harbour Rescue Mission to bless the community and be involved in celebrating Christmas with the less fortunate.

There are several ways for you to be involved in helping us meet the need.  None of these things can happen without community support, so below are also listed ways to help ensure these events are a great success!

Christmas Celebrations at Souls Harbour Rescue Mission:

Christmas Holiday Meal
What? Christmas Holiday Meal for community members that may not have the opportunity to celebrate on their own.  One of our traditional Holiday meals we hold three times a year.
Who? Anyone from the community is welcome.  We invite our neighbours in North Central Regina, our Soup Kitchen guests and advertise at organizations within the city that serve those in need.  Volunteers and staff help to ensure that each guest has a Merry Christmas!
When? Friday, December 23, 2011  11:30am-2:00pm
Where? Good News Chapel, 1380 Elphinstone St.

Little Souls Daycare Christmas Party
What? A Christmas party the children in our daycare.
Who? Little Souls Daycare children
This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate with our daycare children and share the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Day Celebrations
What? A special “Family Christmas” celebration for our residents and guests.
Who? LifeChange Program Residents and Staff.
When? December 25
This is a special time for our staff and residents to spend time sharing the Holidays.

Good News Chapel Christmas Services
What? A Christmas service on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day for community members
Who? Congregation members & members of our community in North Central are invited
When? December 24, December 25,

I Want To Be Involved In Souls Harbour Rescue Mission’s Christmas Celebrations!

Buy A Gift: We give gifts to adults at our program, daycare, soup kitchen and chapel.

There are two ways to donate a gift:

1. Homeless Partners- Provide a gift for our friends and guests at Little Souls Daycare, LifeChange Program Residents, and the Good News Chapel Friends for our Christmas Celebrations! Go to www.homelesspartners.com, read their stories and choose a special gift to buy for someone this season.  Gifts can be delivered to: Glen Elm Church of Christ.  1825 Rothwell St. Regina, Sk S4N 2C3 between the hours of 9 AM & 4 PM, Monday to Friday. Call 757-1825 before you come to ensure someone is at the building. Email blair@warmwelcome.ca if you have any further questions. Be sure to write the persons name and Assigned ID on the gift.  Please remember that gifts must be new!  Daycare gifts must be dropped off by 12PM, December 13th.  Program & Good News Chapel gifts must be dropped off by 12PM, December 20th.
2. Operation Christmas Stocking:  Make a “stocking” for our guests!  You can make them for Men, Women and/or Children just buy the sock for the group you choose! Here’s what you do:
   1. Buy a pair of warm socks
   2. Stuff one sock inside the other
   3. Generously fill the rest of the space with useful items (such as hotel size toiletries, toques, mitts, washcloth, combs, pen and pad, postage stamps, bus tickets, gift cards, etc.)
   4. Complete and drop off the socks before Monday, December 19 Thursday, December 22 at 1836 Halifax St. Between 9am-7pm, Monday –Friday.

Sponsor A Meal: Come as a team and serve the needy!  It is a lot of fun and very rewarding!  Bless the less fortunate and really experience the Christmas spirit.  Businesses, Churches and Small Groups welcome! Prices for sponsorship range from $400-$800+ and dates are being filled quickly.  Information package is available by clicking here . Call 306-543-0011 to reserve this special event.

Make a Donation As always, we accept donations of food, clothing and financial contributions to assist us in our daily operations and our Christmas Celebrations.

1. Financial Gifts:
   Financial donations will be accepted in person at 3535 8^th Avenue from Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, by telephone at 306-543-0011, online, or mail your gift to P.O. Box 3356 Stn. Main, Regina, SK, S4P 3H1.
   To make a donation as a gift to a loved one for Christmas, please contact our financial office (543-0011) to ensure it is recognized properly.
2. In Kind:
   Food, toiletries, and clothing can be delivered to 1836 Halifax St., Monday – Friday from 9:00am-7:00pm.
   Specific donation items we are requesting:

Food:
-Boneless Ham
-Instant Mashed Potatoes (bulk size preferred)
-mixed frozen vegetables
-romaine lettuce
-desserts (squares, pies, baking, etc.)
-punch/drink mix
-Coffeemate/powdered creamer
-sugar

Toiletries:
-shampoo/conditioner
-soap
-toothbrushes/toothpaste/floss
-razors
-shaving cream
-body lotion

Volunteer: There are many ways to be involved this Holiday Season.  If you are interested in serving a meal, helping out with our Christmas Day celebrations, or would like to learn of the many opportunities we have during December, or throughout the year, please contact us, or call 306-543-0011.

For any further questions or clarifications regarding this post – please contact Rebecca Cochrane, Development Director, at 306-543-0011 or by email at rcochrane.shrm@gmail.com.

Souls Harbour Rescue Mission is proud to present our 2nd Annual Homelessness Awareness Week! This year to “raise” awareness, our Executive Director, Joe Miller, will be living on the roof of our Athol Street Location for a week to “raise” 1000 nights of shelter. Follow us on our new Twitter account, become our friend on facebook by “liking” us, and visit www.nightsofshelter.com to get involved in the event.  You are also invited to our Free Kickoff BBQ on Monday, August 22 at noon and our Free Windup BBQ on Friday, August 26 at noon – to see Joe as he goes up and comes down off the roof of our Daycare/Youth Centre building at 1475 Athol St.

For more information, check out our Homelessness Awareness Week Poster!

This is so exciting!

As part of our 20^th anniversary celebrations the executive team and I decided to launch a new website. Now, after what seems like numerous delays, the new Souls Harbour RESCUE Missions website is a reality!

Though Souls Harbour Rescue mission has grown significantly in the last three years, the post merger years, this ministry was originally built upon the need for essential humanitarian services such as food, shelter and clothing!  Today we’ve become much more! Not only do we provide those core services, but we offer subsidized daycare, youth programming, and affordable housing!

I’m often asked to speak at various occasions and functions, and one of the most frequent things I here others say afterwards is this: “I didn’t realize you guys did all that!” That statement is another reason for launching this new website.

All of the staff here at the mission believes in the importance of doing what we do to the best of our abilities, and I believe that it’s my responsibility to provide them with the resources to do just that. It seemed only logical to me that providing the appropriate information and assistance to the public, our clients, and the many agencies and organizations that we partner with, was a natural extension of that philosophy. This website was designed to be such a tool!

If you want to join the Life-Change Program there’s a form that you can fill in online. A volunteer application is available. Media can use the site to check on upcoming events or as a source for photographs. Our annual financial statements can be found here as well. You can make a donation online, look for an apartment, and much more!

In closing, I would like to thank our website designer, Fusion Online. Brad thanks for all of your time, your patience with us as we tried to figure out what exactly we wanted, and for your professionalism!  And last but not least, thanks so much for your generous donation, and for recognizing that as a not for profit Souls Harbour Rescue Mission’s funds for this project were limited!

Joseph Miller

Executive Director