MOOSE JAW — Souls Harbour Rescue Mission (SHRM) may have closed Riverside Mission and dropped the proposed building project, but it is continuing to donate food and money to community organizations helping the less fortunate.
“It shows that we care about the community — we’ve always said that — and we still want to be a part of helping feed people in the community,” said Joe Miller, SHRM’s executive director. “We have donors that want us to do that, so we’re doing what we can."
SHRM recently made two $11,000 cash donations to St. Aidan Anglican Church and First Baptist Church to support their food programs, while it recently donated three tons of food to the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank. It also made a $20,000 cash donation to New Life Centre Church, which was the original founding church of Riverside Mission.
The items the non-profit donated to the food bank came on six pallets, which included non-perishables such as canned foods, sauces, pasta, cereals, cookies and other items.
These donations show that Souls Harbour has not abandoned Moose Jaw, contrary to what people may say or think, Miller said. The “bottom line” is that SHRM wants to continue supporting people in need and addressing food security issues in Canada’s Most Notorious City.
Board members decided that they wanted the organization to make these cash and food donations to show their commitment to Moose Jaw, he remarked. This is the first round of donations, while they will continue to make donations as finances allow.
“We’re still trying to recoup our costs (from the failed building project), but … we want to do what we can as well,” Miller added.
Jason Moore, the food bank’s executive director, said it was great to receive the donation, especially since Riverside Mission’s closure strained the resources of the food bank and some churches.
“So, for Joe Miller and Souls Harbour to come with this offering is generous, and it is remarkable that he is still willing to help out in this way even though Riverside Mission can’t be a part of our city,” Moore continued.
The three tons of food are important because the food bank’s client numbers have nearly doubled during the past few years, he noted. Furthermore, recent “shocking” numbers from Food Banks Canada show that, over the past five years, almost every food bank across the country has seen a doubling of numbers.
What’s worse is 30 per cent of such organizations were forced to close their doors this year because they ran out of food, Moore said. Moose Jaw faced something similar this summer, but the public’s generosity kept the food bank open. Donations from the Better Together Food Drive are also expected to benefit the food insecurity agency.
“But this is certainly a blessing that we will not turn down and will put it to good use,” he chuckled, “as we figure out new ways to be sustainable.”
Moore added that Souls Harbour’s donation was like a post-Thanksgiving gift.
St. Aidan Anglican Church is filled with “lots of gratitude” for Souls Harbour’s $11,000 donation, especially since the church is aware of how hungry people are, said Michelle Josefson, parish administrator.
The church is waiting to learn whether its other funding applications are successful for its weekend lunch program, so this financial gift means it won’t have to worry about resources “for several months.”
“It just allows us to carry on,” she remarked.
The donation was not entirely unexpected because Miller contacted the church once he realized Riverside Mission would be closing and asked what St. Aidan was doing and how the Regina-based organization could help, Josefson recalled.
While it’s not yet confirmed, St. Aidan could use some of the money to support Community Connection, she added. That group is handing out — and sometimes cooking — food from the church’s parking lot and has been playing a bigger role while other social agencies attempt to find a permanent, indoor location during this period of “turmoil” in Moose Jaw.
