Giving Tuesday 2023 – How We Give.
This year, we’re doing something different to ring in Giving Tuesday.
For the 7 days leading up to Tuesday, November 28th, we’ve shown our social media followers How We Give to one another by highlighting seven stories of generosity within our community. We might give hundreds of meals, cups of coffee, and warm interactions each day. But at the heart of what we do, we cultivate a space where strangers become neighbours, and where neighbours become friends. And friendship gives to one another.
Check out these 7 stories that show how kind, generous, and thoughtful our community is to one another.
Day 1 – Mike and Diane 
When Mike lost a roof over his head, he felt lost. He had been living in a place that wasn’t safe, where he didn’t even feel comfortable sleeping at night. One day he just couldn’t take it anymore, and had to leave. But with the cost of rent being so high and his resources severely limited, he didn’t have an immediate place to turn to. That’s when Diane knew she had to do something.
Diane reconfigured her 13ftx13ft studio apartment to be able to fit another bed. She knew that even with the little space she had, she wanted to give Mike a place to stay. Mike stayed with her temporarily while he found another place to stay and got set up with a housing worker through the help of our Community Support program. Diane’s generosity that shone through in this situation. Mike said, “She saw me in my struggle, when I was crying. She helped me when I was in need. It meant a lot.”
Day 2 – Fern, our card supplier 
Small acts of great love are common within the Capital City Mission community. Our friend Fern loves his community by helping supply one of our most popular pass times. Fern is one of CCM’s avid euchre players, and he blesses the drop-in and fellow card players by purchasing new cards every few months. This small but generous act ensures that the card players always have a fresh deck of cards, taking into account some players’ needs to have non-sticky cards because of dexterity issues. We’re all so grateful for Fern’s small acts of great love hat have a big impact at CCM.
Day 3 – Wing’s Chilli Peppers 
A harvest is meant to be shared, right? Well at least that’s what our friend Wing thinks. When his hot chilli peppers were ready to come off the plant in September, he made sure to ask his friends at the drop-in if they would like any. The next day, he brought dozens of little chilli peppers for anyone who wanted them! Because sharing is caring.
Day 4 – CCM’s Bike Repair Shop 
Our community happily gives time and effort to one another when in need. This summer, Diane got a bike that needed some fixing up. Friends immediately started helping her out. They striped the paint, de-rusted, and repainted her bike – all right in front of our drop-in! Folks in our community are so committed to supporting one another with what they have.
Day 5 – A donation that started a new program 
When our friend Delbert got a new TV, he knew exactly where he wanted to donate his old one… Capital City Mission 
We gratefully accepted, but at first, we didn’t know what we would do with it. Soon enough, one of our staff members Nathan had the idea to start a weekly movie club, where our community could gather to watch a movie together.
Delbert’s generosity led to the creation of a new activity group, where 88% of folks who come feel that it has a positive impact on their mood. When asked what people like about Movie Club, they said the “shared experience,” that they’re “happy to be with friends,” and “laughing with people and be joyful together.” Thank you Delbert for making Movie Club happen.
Day 6 – Friends bring friends coffee 
Leslie has gotten reallllllllllly good at carrying two coffees at once. Why? Well, some folks in our community have severe mobility issues, which prevents them from getting to our drop-in. Mary is one of them. She loves our drop-in, but she’s in great need of a hip replacement.
Thankfully, her and her neighbour Leslie have become good friends. On the days where it is too painful for Mary to come get a coffee on her own, Leslie brings her a coffee and a sandwich. We are so thankful for the friendships like this one, where they always have each other’s back. At our drop-in, friendships form and deepen, growing peoples’ support networks.
Day 7 – Neighbours loving neighbours… Through a pair of pants 👖
Our final highlighted story of generosity is one that one of our staff, Jenna, told Bethel Church when she visited them earlier this year. The sacrifice that someone made on behalf of a stranger embodies the heart of what we do – create a place for people to come to love and to be loved by one another.
This is How We Give at Capital City Mission.
How will you give this Giving Tuesday?
You can make an impact at Capital City Mission today. Help us continue to foster a place where strangers become friends and where friends give to one another by making a donation to support our work.
- Partner with us long-term. Commit today to give monthly to CCM. In any amount, this is single handedly the best way to give our organization stability as we meet increasing needs and plan for the future.
- Make a donation today, and help our community give to each other tomorrow.
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