Out of the Cold Volunteer Opportunities

St. Patrick’s Out of the Cold program seeks to respond to the immediate need for food for our vulnerable population each weekend from November to April. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of funding from the City of Toronto, St Patrick’s Out of the Cold will not be serving dinner or providing accommodations to our guests for the 2023/2024 season. However, to help as many homeless guests and people facing food insecurity as possible, we will be preparing meals at St. Patrick’s which will then be served  by two agencies at their locations by local staff: Good Shepherd Ministries on Queen Street East and St. Felix on Fraser Avenue.

We need about 14 volunteers each weekend to help prepare,  package, and transport the meals, as well as clean the kitchen area. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please fill out the short survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YG6FCP6, or contact our volunteer coordinator, Anthony Romano, at ootc.volunteers@stpatrickstoronto.ca for more information. An orientation meeting for volunteers will be held in the parish hall on Sunday, October 29th at 2:00 pm.

The program relies on donations from businesses and individuals. If you would like to make a financial contribution, cheques can be made out to St. Patrick’s Church. In the memo line write, Out of the Cold Program and it can be mailed to the parish office. It can also be placed in specially marked envelopes available at the back of the church and dropped in the collection basket during Mass. Donations can also be made through the church website by clicking on ‘Donate’ and mentioning ‘OOTC Program’ in the comments section, or by scanning the QR Code in the bulletin. Tax receipts are available for all donations over $10.00 issued immediately for a single donation or at the end of the year for a recurring gift.

For more information, please visit our OOTC page.