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541 Eatery & Exchange is a non-profit café that relies on donations to keep the lights on and the doors open, where you can pay-it-forward by volunteering or by turning dollars into buttons. Anyone can use 5 buttons from the jar each day as $5 towards a good meal, which helps feed those who have food insecurity issues, but also nurtures a diverse community of belonging around the table. So they don’t just need donations to fill up the button jar, but to continue providing the button jar and the community surrounding it a place to happen.

Ve’ahavta is a Canadian humanitarian organization that supports the homeless in Toronto by promoting positive change in the lives of people of all faiths and backgrounds. Ve’ahavta’s life-changing programs include mobile outreach six days a week to people who live on the streets of Toronto. Ve’ahavta also provides life and work skills training. 76% of the participants of these programs become employed or move onto post-secondary education. Your generous donation helps to make a transformative change in the lives of vulnerable people in Toronto.

Hamilton Out of the Cold (HOOTC) is a not-for-profit, non-denominational program serving dinner six nights a week and breakfasts three times a week from 11 locations in the Hamilton area through the winter. During the 2019/2020 season, HOOTC served 18,096 dinners and, served 8,517 breakfasts. Their mission is to eliminate hunger in the Hamilton community by providing hot, nutritious meals for those with food insecurity. Served with dignity and compassion, HOOTC is sustained by donations of both money and food from local businesses, and food drives in order to fulfill their mandate. 

Seeds of Hope Foundation was founded by Sister Susan Moran, who also started the Out of the Cold revolution in Toronto. Their main focus has been to create ‘centres of friendship’ that are safe places, and to encourage individuals living in poverty to support one another. Their resource centres operate as ‘open space learning centres’ where meals & learning centre programs are offered at no charge. Their transitional homes, safe places, and creative spaces enhance livelihood, learning, and social opportunities.

Butch McKenna

“You’re on the garbage truck going to the dump, you don’t have to stay on it. Jump off the truck. End of the road is death. ” — Butch McKenna

Butch is a 69 year old Hamiltonian. Educated at Ryerson as an Electronics Technician, he worked for Searle Pharmaceuticals for years. He was married “twice or so” as he put it (now divorced) and has two children, an adult girl and boy who he is now estranged from. Butch worked hard and travelled for work from Vancouver to the Maritimes Monday to Friday, he drank at home on the weekends to alleviate stress. After a serious motorcycle accident and injuries that cost Butch his job, 4 months in hospital and nearly a year rehabilitating, alcohol eased the pain. What started as a weekend stress reliever ended up being a pain killer. Butch is an alcoholic…

Ralph 

“I got too much for nothing in life. Time to return it” — Ralph

 Ralph is a senior citizen. He has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease), is on oxygen 24/7 and gets around on a scooter. He is an avid reader, loves music and considers his friends at Hamilton Out of the Cold (HOOTC) his family…

Murray 

We met with Murray in downtown Hamilton. A phenomenally intense and passionate middle aged individual, Murray is very well known in his Hamilton community.  Whether it’s the general population, the homeless, the addicted or the individuals working to better the lives of the homeless and/or addicted in such places as shelters where he once lived, safe injection sites and Hamilton Out of The Cold (HOOTC) where Murray goes for a hot good meal, everyone is Murray’s friend…