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What We Do: Our Justice Van Runs
What We Do: Our Justice Van Runs
"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' " Matthew 25:40
May 1, 2025
...it was a very hot day as I met Brett at the Seed. PCS had dropped sandwiches off at my place earlier and Joyce brought more to the Seed. We had LOTS of sandwiches plus Brett brought 4 dozen muffins, 2 flats of water and extra pop. We also had oranges, Nutrigrain bars and snacks to give out as well.
On Queens Avenue we served our friends Maggie, Martin, Abby, Bert, Layton and Corey. We knew we were going to be very busy on Princess Avenue as Brett and I had both driven by earlier in the day. We were not wrong in our prediction.
There were a few encampments on Princess. We had a continuous line-up til everyone was served. At one point a lady asked for a clothing article and I said she would have to come to Anawim as we were too busy. She was fine with it and I noticed she was quite well dressed anyway. The only other person that asked for anything was Rex. He asked for shoes and we gave him a brand new pair at the end as he waited patiently around. We served so many people that the following was the best we could do from memory. We had no time to write down people's names as we went like is normal procedure.
We served John, Mike, Len, Ryan, Doug, Deeana, Mark, Masterjit, Corey, Davin, Devon, another Devon, Jill, Ali, Nicki, Zoltan, Marshall, Rodi, Randy, James, Levi, Jared, Rex, Miranda, Jess, Dennis, Brandon, Kyran, Daniel, Denny, another Mark, Kevin, Christian, King Richard and his wife Cassandra, Jay, Victor, Brian, Xavier, Newf, Calvin, Coda, Dave and many, many others.
We gave out all sandwiches, muffins, oranges, 1 ½ boxes of chips(60-70 packs) and over a flat of water. We emptied the cooler and filled it up again only to go through a lot of it once more. People were hungry but they were especially thirsty. Again, much gratitude expressed to us. Brett and I at the end felt like we had played a full soccer game!! Was a great, great afternoon serving this community...
Frank
(Frank Woods, Executive Director)
April 29, 2025
...it was a nice, sunny day as Su-hui and I drove to the Seed. Barbara had dropped oranges and sandwiches off at my place earlier in the day. Jeannette also brought delicious sandwiches to the Seed. We had tuna, turkey, ham, egg, peanut butter and jam & peanut butter and nutella sandwiches! We also had cookies, oranges, snacks, nutrigrain bars plus assorted drinks.
On Queens Avenue we served Martin, Layton, John and Daniel. Layton needed a blanket which we gave him.
We headed over to the Bottle Depot on Princess. There were lots of people on that street and many bottling. We served Shawnee, Shelby, Matty, Deb, Kyran, Ernie, Jessica, Dennis, Sarah, Andrew, Chris, another Chris, Gage, Coda, Levi, Koby, Katie, Sylvie, Jay, Andre, Rob, Rodi, Marshall, Bert, Peter, Brandon, Masterjit, Mark, Jerry, Dave, Glen, Nadine, Jeff, Ashley, Kevin, Kristina, Thomas, Randy, Shae, Veronica, Leah, Colin, Pierre, Jodi, Joseph, Sean and others.
People just kept coming and coming. We gave Andre and Kristina a blanket plus Jerry a tarp. Many people were complaining that bylaw had taken all their belongings. Leah commented that the egg sandwich we gave her last time was the best ever! We received many thank-you's as per normal.
We served so many people tonight. We gave out all sandwiches, oranges and had to refill the cooler. Su-hui touched base with some people that she has not seen for awhile so that was special. A great night yet again serving our friends....
Frank
(Frank Woods, Executive Director)
April 27, 2025
...it was a very hot, sunny day when I met Doug at the Seed. The Tolsma's and Margaret dropped off their sandwiches. We also had muffins, cookies, granola bars, snacks and assorted drinks to give out.
It was quite busy on Queens Avenue near the Seed. We served Doug, Layton, Dennis, Tyler(TJ), Mack, Matty, Martin, Tracy, John, Steve, Denny, Ryan, Julie, Shawnee and others. We gave Layton sweatpants and a hoodie that he badly needed. Doug asked for a hoodie and we gave him a brand new one.
We headed over to the Bottle Depot on Princess Avenue. It was very busy in the Depot and there were lots of people camping on the street. We served Chris, Mike, Mano, Ernest, Mark, Cody, Koba, Nathan, Jeremy, Simone, Brandon, Brendan, Matty, Dennis, Daniel, Marshall, Rodi, Miranda, another Chris, John, Strawberry, Jess, Blais, Travis, Colin, Sam, Dalonna, James, Nick, Lance, Dee, Tammy and many others. We also served our old friends Josh and June! We gave out lots of pairs of socks which is normal.
We gave out all sandwiches, cookies, muffins, granola bars, lots of water and essentially emptied the cooler. Again, with no resources open, people were so hungry & thirsty. The Van continues to bridge that gap and I believe is a lighthouse to the street community. We bring hope where there is so much despair and light where there is a lot of darkness.
Frank
(Frank Woods, Executive Director)
April 25, 2025
...it was a beautiful day as I met Caryl at the Seed. PCS had dropped sandwiches off at my place earlier in the afternoon. We also had banana bread, muffins, squares, Nutrigrain bars, home made cookies plus cold assorted drinks.
It was fairly quiet by the Seed. We served Chad, Martin, Mano, Christopher and Sam. Christopher's pants were falling down so we gave him a belt which he put on immediately. We also gave him a really nice blanket. Mano asked for a ball cap and socks which we gave him.
We headed over to the Bottle Depot where we knew it was very busy on Princess Avenue. There was a small encampment on Douglas as well and they came around to the Van. We served Devon, Doug, Deeana, Masterjit, Andrew, Jessica, Nathan, Keith, TJ(Tyler), Delon(sp?), Koby, Derick, Rob, Amy, Richard, Sam(male), Joshua, Courtney, Maggie, Thomas, Dave, Lee, Corey, Ernie, Mark, Norm, Layton, Don, Jason, Matty and others. Layton needed shoes and we had an excellent pair for him. We gave out lots of pairs of socks as well. Corey received a funky hoodie which she loved.
We headed down a bit further on Princess and served Mark, John, another Jessica, Deb, Samantha(?) , Glen, Nadine and Jerry. Everyone as normal full of kind words and gratitude.
We gave out all sandwiches, muffins, squares, banana bread, homemade cookies plus so many drinks. A couple people at the end received granola bars instead of sandwiches and were happy with that. We gave out generously as people were very hungry & thirsty.
Another wonderful afternoon serving and talking with our friends...
Frank
(Frank Woods, Executive Director)
A General Comment on the JVS Runs
One of Frank’s favourite themes centres on how we often have “just enough” to meet the needs of everyone. And, as a rule, he’s pretty much right. That said, we sometimes find ourselves out of sandwiches toward the end, but the street community folks are usually quite content with a protein bar and chips, and a pop and such.
Another side of all of this is that Frank gets “up” for it every time! He’s “on” for the entire hour or so, and I’ve never seen him act as though he wishes he were somewhere else. Thank you, Frank!!!
Doug
(Doug Kelk, Volunteer)
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