Reaching Out to Our Neighbours
Hands of Hope provides free furniture and household goods to people in need.
Our vision is to replace poverty with hope by providing a means for our community
to care for one another.
So far, we have helped over 20,000 individuals.
You can make a difference in the lives of our less fortunate neighbours in Winnipeg.
Many are impoverished – they and their children are sleeping on the floor.
Hands of Hope picks up good-quaility used furniture from donors
and delivers it to families in need at no cost to them.
Financial contributions are therefore essential for this good work to continue.
On almost any day Hands of Hope receives 100 phone calls from our fellow citizens
in desperate need of help.
They are senior citizens sleeping on the floor without any furniture in their
home and no pots and pans for cooking, or refugees bearing the scars
of brutal conflicts in their native country, escaping for their lives.
They are first nations people coming into the city looking for improved
conditions, education and health treatment. People who have had their
house broken into and all of their possessions stolen phone us, as well
as those who have had their homes infested with bed bugs, women escaping
abusive relationships, single parents, people who are ill or injured,
those with mental problems, ex criminals etc.
There
are many causes of the problems these Winnipegers are facing. Some of
which are:
- Inadequate training in life skills.
- Unsafe, insecure, unsanitary and inadequate housing.
- Difficulty fitting into the types of jobs available
- Inadequate mental health support.
Not enough is being done to address these causes. One solution is basic, safe, inexpensive
housing coupled with onsite counselling and life skills support. However,
at this time families are moving often, due to poor housing and
the many other causes mentioned earlier, so there is an ongoing need
for used furniture . That need can be met with the abundance of
good items stored in garages and basements that other families do not
want to see destroyed at the landfill sites.
To get that furniture to the people who desperately need it, requires “Hands
of Hope”. The hands that give “hope” require the financial
resources to deliver that hope. Funds are needed for van and trailer
gas and repairs, staff to pick up and deliver furniture, take phone
calls, record information, maintain the warehouse, record financial
contributions and issue receipts for income tax , and supervise volunteers
helping with sorting, packing and repairing the many items picked up
and delivered each day.
The effect of your financial donation will be multiplied many times by our
hard-working, kind-hearted volunteers and donors of free furniture.
We plan to help at least one thousand four hundred families in 2008.
Your financial donation will be receipted for income tax purposes.
Your generosity will make life more bearable for many of your neighbours
in need in Winnipeg. They would be very grateful.
Hands of Hope Coordinator
Charles F. Norris
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