Food, milk and an afternoon of bowling keep volunteers on their toes
May, 2011
I recall as a child in grade school eyeing the milk bottles over in the corner of the classroom as I waited with dire thirst for the moment to savour a bottle of soothing and refreshing milk.
I often did not have any patience to sit down to eat breakfast, as food was not a priority for me. I was the last of four children and my mother was an excellent self-taught cook by the time I was born, so no one starved in our family. Food was readily available. I simply did not feel like eating early in the morning. Once or twice, I fainted at my desk!
As a mother and grandmother, I am ecstatic to be part of the Generations Foundation family, an organization dedicated to “equalling the playing field” to ensure that children are eating a proper breakfast or a hot lunch at school along with a generous portion of milk. Concerned individuals are astonished to learn that even in Montreal, children are going to school hungry.
Due to difficult economic times, the “nouveau pauvre” or the middle-class are experiencing problems not apparent at first glance. A meal supplied by Generations Foundation may be the only one of the day because access to government sponsored meals are limited.
generationsfoundation.com, 514-933-8585
It’s time for Share the Warmth’s Table of Hope, where you can taste the finest from Montreal’s culinary community.
The event takes place at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel and features entertainment, a silent auction and prize table, plus an after-hours nightclub.
Monday, May 9, at 6:30 pm (patron’s cocktail 5pm). Tickets are $125, general admission, and $200 including the patron’s cocktail party). Visit tableofhope.ca or call 514-933-5599 for information or to buy tickets.
Next up is the Sam Pelc Scholarship Awards celebration on Friday, June 3.
So far, we have 34 scholarship students and will be welcoming 10 new students into the program. Each student receives $500 a year for educational needs.
These students will receive funding for each of their high school years as long as they keep their grades at an acceptable level.
All students receive the award after graduating Grade 6. A contract is signed between the parent, student and Share the Warmth in which all parties agree that the student will go for tutoring if his or her grades slip.
Last month, Sun Youth organized an event for its regular volunteers: an afternoon of bowling.
After a delicious buffet and dessert, the many Sun Youth volunteers took on the alleys of Darling Bowling in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, all hoping to bowl a 300 game. No one managed to reach that score, but these volunteers are all winners!
Sun Youth would not have become what it is without their involvement.
It would never have existed had it not been for co-founders Earl De La Perralle and Sid Stevens, who, in 1954, used their spare time to create a handwritten newspaper to raise profits for organizing sports activities and purchasing equipment for youth in their neighbourhood.
“The success of Sun Youth Organization, and many other organizations, hinges on the support we receive from volunteers,” Stevens says. “It’s impossible to put a dollar figure on the amount of time that volunteers contribute every year.”
The best way to ensure these volunteers stay on board is to take good care of them. This was the ultimate goal of the bowling activity. In addition to door prizes and gifts for the best bowlers, they had the afternoon off, a well-deserved reward for all their hard work!
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