As directed by the provincial announcement on April 7, 2021, SSVP Brant Thrift Store, 143 Wellington St., Brantford, is closed effective immediately. This applies to all facets of our operation – shopping, accepting donations, pick up and delivery etc.
The only exceptions will be emergency food assistance to those who reach out to us provided by our conference members – as that is allowed under the provision “providing service to the vulnerable”.
To those we serve in Brantford/Brant: if you require emergency food assistance during this period, call the phone number for our branch (conference) that covers your area – to hear how they are adapting their service for you …
– Blessed Sacrament (Burford, Scotland, West Brantford) 519-865-1562
– Sacred Heart (Paris & St. George) 519-442-2465
– St. Basil (Central Brantford) 519-752-0243
– St. Mary (East & South Brantford) 226-208-6846
– St. Pius X (North Brantford) 519-753-9052
Stay Safe!
Author: Pat Lenz
Update: Bed for Every Child Program
In 2014, SSVP Brant established this program to assist those in need in Brantford and Brant County by providing new beds to children who were doing without. To date (early 2021), we have distributed more than 700 beds through the program!!
For details of the operation see this earlier post A Bed for Every Child – Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (ssvpbrant.ca).
Now we have great news for the future of the program! Thanks to a grant from Brant United Way we will be able to maintain the program through 2021. Yes, we are on the list at the bottom of this article Music program for deafblind gets Brant United Way boost | Brantford Expositor.
The usual fundraising activities in support of the program are primarily through BHNCDSB schools, especially Assumption College. The pandemic has severely restricted such activities. A few schools are persevering but the United Way funding is very welcome. We look forward to working with the schools and other local supporters of the Bed for Every Child program in 2022.
Furniture Donations Now Accepted
We are (finally) ready to resume acceptance of your generous donations of furniture.
Our priority continues to be furniture essential to the lifestyles of those we serve. That would include something to sit on, sleep on, eat at – of modest sizes as so many of us now live in smaller spaces. Out of respect for all of our customers we require that the items be clean and in good shape.
Because of pandemic restrictions, we must handle all donations carefully, for the safety and comfort of all of our customers and volunteers. One major precaution is that all donations are quarantined for a period of time when they are received before they are processed by our volunteers. For this reason the following restrictions are in place:
- Drop off of furniture items can be arranged by appointment.
- Pick up of items (usually on a Saturday, from a sheltered outdoor location only) can be arranged.
Email ssvpbrant@gmail.com, ideally attaching picture(s) of item(s) on offer, or call 519-751-0143 to make arrangements.
Thanks to all of our generous donors for your patience and for your ongoing support of our service to those in need in Brantford and Brant County.
The Energy of Our Young(est) Volunteers
All of the volunteers at SSVP Brant Thrift Store are young at heart, regardless of their chronological age. However this summer, additional lively young volunteers arrived to assist our usual crew.
At the pre-sorting table, Quin (Gr. 9 at Assumption College) has been assisting Grandma Rita with her tasks.
In new volunteer roles necessitated by the pandemic, Ally (Gr. 12 at North Park Collegiate) and Kylie (Gr. 12 at Assumption College) have been greeting customers, explaining our hygiene and physical distancing precautions as well as disinfecting shopping carts.
When Julian (Gr. 9 at St. John’s College) has arrived each Wednesday with his grandfather, volunteer Edwin, he has jumped into whatever task awaits, especially lots of sorting: food donations, hangers, clothing and lots of other stuff.
When Charlie (Gr. 10 at Assumption College) has come along with grandmother Elaine, he has proven to be a “doer”, both receiving donations and pre-sorting them under the direction of volunteer Theresa.
Volunteer Wies’ granddaughter Sophie (from Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School in Orillia) shared her years of experience with SSVP Brant as she returned for a working visit at the sorting table.
With much appreciation for this sharing of their energy and enthusiasm we wish our young volunteers well as they return to whichever version of school they have chosen. And we are excited to know that some of them will be returning to help periodically in the next months as their schedules permit.
Volunteer experience (40 hours total) is currently required as part of the graduation requirements for high school students in Ontario. Also, the commitment, work ethic and community spirit demonstrated by such activity is recognized positively when students apply for post-secondary scholarships or bursaries.
Any high school student wishing to volunteer during the school year is very welcome to join our team at SSVP Brant Thrift Store. To explore this possibility contact us at ssvpbrant@gmail.com.
Thrift Store Update August 25, 2020
Our current hours of opening for shopping continue to be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10 am to 2:30 pm.
We continue to accept donations on Wednesdays between 9 am and 12 noon.
In order to achieve safe physical distancing in our Store for our customers and our volunteers, we continue to limit the number of customers in the retail space.
Thanks to all for your patience, understanding and cooperation as our 100% volunteer staff continues to serve the community.Part of this process involves restricting entrance to one person per family group and to people over the age of 15.