Supporting children and families through hearty meals
Boyle Street’s meal sponsorship program brings staff, clients and the public together to develop a healthy, nourished and connected community. This month, the Edmonton Catholic Teachers (ECT) Local 54 fundraised to sponsor two meals for our community!
The ECT Local 54 is a branch of the union for the Alberta Teachers’ Association. The local runs a Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Committee, a Gay-Straight Alliance and, most recently, an Anti-Racism Committee.
Usually, the teachers from ECT Local 54 are busy volunteering year-round in their communities. The Committees they run encourage members to engage in social justice work in their communities. Since COVID-19 put a halt to most volunteer activities, the Local fundraised to sponsor a meal at Boyle Street. They quickly met and exceeded their goal, allowing them to sponsor a second meal for our community!
“We sent out a flyer to everyone in the Local saying that we’d be collecting funds for Boyle Street,” explained Renée Shevalier-Lavin from Local 54. “We said, if you’re able to give at this time, please give. And that’s how we did it! We have a pretty generous group of teachers, and this meal sponsorship program was perfect for everybody, regardless of how much they were able to give.”
Meal sponsorships help ensure food security for the individuals and families we serve at Boyle Street. Not only did the Local’s meal sponsorships provided two hearty meals to feed everyone at our Community Centre, but they also allowed us to restock essential ingredients for future meals.
For many of the teachers of Local 54, giving back to the community is personal. Renée emailed a heart to the Local representative at each school so they could print them off and get their teachers and support staff to sign it for our community members.
Gifting something as simple as a meal can help to uplift the whole community. For the teachers of Local 54, supporting Boyle Street means supporting the children and families who access our services.
“We all have students whose families may use the resources Boyle Street has in the city, especially during COVID times, said Renée. “As teachers, we’re pretty lucky. We have, I think, the best job in the world, working with these kids, so we just like to get involved in the community and give back that way.”
To learn more and sponsor a meal at Boyle Street, visit www.boylestreet.org/meal