Community organizations bring holiday cheer to less fortunate Montréal’s

Another pandemic Christmas cannot prevent warm-hearted staff, volunteers, donors and supporters from providing delicious meals to customers.

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Before the coronavirus pandemic changed lives as we know it, the doors of the Old Brewery Mission’s Webster Pavilion were open to all Montréal on Christmas Day and hundreds of people, residents, staff and volunteers, stood by. “Elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder,” recalled President and CEO James Hughes.

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“It was beautiful,” he said.

“And we are so far from that now.”

The highly contagious variant Omicron COVID-19 has overshadowed vacation plans; Although we barely remember a time when we did not mask ourselves and socially distance ourselves, the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, warned us to be even more cautious.

Still, “the trees are up and the music will be playing,” Hughes said, and “beautiful” festive meals will be served to patrons and delivered to the more than 330 patrons now housed.

On Friday night there will be a lamb mechoui with almond rice with raisins, green salad and apple pie; A Christmas meal on Saturday will include turkey, cranberry sauce, miniature tourtières, Salardaise potatoes and a chocolate bûche.

“We do our best to keep it as festive as possible, but we must limit the number of people in the building and be very careful about hand washing and distancing,” Hughes said. In the Webster Pavilion, that means 35 people at a time, Plexiglass dividers between seats, in a space that seats more than 100. And there are no volunteers. “It sure is a different rhythm, but delicious food at a difficult time is what we can do.”

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Community organizations that help the disadvantaged, needy or lonely have worked incredibly hard to bring the Christmas spirit and joy to Montréal during another pandemic Christmas.

Prior to 2020, more than 1,000 meals were served at the NDG Community Council’s annual Christmas dinner. Dozens of volunteers roasted five dozen or more turkeys and meals were served, for several hours, at a local church in an initiative led almost entirely by volunteers.

In 2020, the pandemic canceled dinner, like so many other things. But NDG Community Council He found an alternative solution: Meals were ordered from local restaurants and delivered by volunteers to more than 600 residents.

“Our idea was to support the local community,” explained NDG Community Council Director Halah Al-Ubaidi. The initiative supported local businesses and, while delivering meals, volunteers had the opportunity to monitor vulnerable and isolated residents.

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“People loved it and said, ‘Let’s do it again,'” Al-Ubaidi said.

The plans were underway. Meals were ordered once more and volunteers planned to deliver them to up to 800 residents. Gift bags prepared by volunteers included chocolate, jewelry made by artisans, and information on council resources.

But as news of the pandemic grew more dire this week, Al-Ubaidi wondered: Should the event be canceled?

Then, on Wednesday, he said, “My staff is saying, ‘No, we can’t stop.’ “

After a meeting Thursday with municipality officials and local police, the decision was made to move forward. With the help of volunteers, Ubaidi said, up to 800 meals will be delivered to residents between this Friday and next.

With the effort of staff and volunteers, donors and partners, the Sun Youth Organization was able to fill and distribute 5,000 huge Christmas food baskets during a 15-day period ending Thursday. The area of ​​the Parc Ave. building where the baskets were being assembled was bustling with activity; the ingredients included milk and eggs; peanut butter, soup base and coffee; Produces; chicken and fish; shampoo and soap. And for every child 12 and under, there was a new toy.

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“We try to be great at Christmas,” said Eric Kingsley, director of emergency services for Sun Youth.

The home deliveries of some 2,000 baskets were coordinated by some 50 Montreal parking enforcement officers, longtime program volunteers. There were 500 curbside pickups, and 2,500 families came on foot or by public transport to collect their baskets, five families every 15 minutes.

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A virtual choir of Selwyn House School staff and students and members of the Contact Center, a community center for seniors, produced a delightful Christmas video as part of an intergenerational Contactivity program funded by Canadian Heritage. Earlier this month, an intergenerational tea was held at Zoom.

The annual Christmas party in In Doris , a shelter in the center that provides support to vulnerable women, including the homeless, was canceled in 2020; Being able to pull it off this year, on Dec. 14, before the Omicron variant really took hold, was “cathartic,” said CEO Marina Bolous-Winton.

On December 18, Chez Doris held a Christmas party for mothers and children at Carlos & Pepe’s in Vaudreuil; Over the past year, the organization has placed more than 100 former homeless women in apartments; 45 children were reunited with their mothers.

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On Friday, homeless guests at Chez Doris will enjoy a festive meal prepared by chefs Nicholas Bramos and Nima Pouyamajd of Succeda, an Italian restaurant in Rosemere. A brunch on Saturday will be followed by bingo, and the women will receive goody bags including gloves, hats, bus tickets, and gift cards. At dinner, La boucherie Le Porc des Roy meat pies donated by the marketing and advertising company Upperkut will be served with mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and wood-fired pies.

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Reference-montrealgazette.com

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