What’s the worth of a penny?

On Friday, the last Canadian one-cent coin was struck. As the good luck pennies start to disappear from circulation, we will never forget how lucky we felt on the day that Denis proudly presented to NightShift his jar of pennies.   Denis had stooped and collected in the only way he felt he could support our fundraising drive, but his contribution to the needs of NightShift on that momentous occasion was worth so much more than the monetary content of his jar. As a ministry relying on voluntary donations of time and money to provide for those in our community who have so much need, Denis came full circle in his relationship with the ministry, and as his note attests, with God. As we continue to do His work in meeting the needs of our street friends, people living in poverty or without a home, people who have lost a great deal more than a lucky penny or two, we are truly humbled by the support the ministry continues to receive. Christmas 2010 was approaching and we urgently needed help to carry on bringing sustenance to others. When Kent Sillars of Vesta Properties called to tell us about the $50,000 matching donation challenge he had issued on behalf of NightShift we were amazed. When he told us only a few days later that the challenge had been taken up so enthusiastically by so many local businesses and individuals, we were speechless. They ended up raising $67,500 from their partners – which came to $135,000 with Vesta’s matching donation – all in a very short time! We were floored. It was an overwhelming success and it made a huge impact in reaching out, feeding and sheltering the poor and homeless people in our community. Traditionally, people tend to give more to needy causes at Christmas time. However, people are hungry and in need of consistent support beyond the holidays. In order to administer our outreach programs year-round, NightShift continually has to raise funds to provide our services to homeless people in our neighbourhoods. Today, Vesta Properties is launching another matching donations program to raise $150,000 by June 15, 2012! We are expanding the challenge to people who are already involved with NightShift, providing an opportunity to double that donation. With your help, each dollar contributed now goes twice as far.

Please help us and pledge your support now!

Join us before June 15th, as people like you and me, businesses and individuals, all rally together to help bring unconditional love, hope and purpose to those less fortunate in our community. On behalf of our friends: thank you and blessings, MaryAnne Connor (Rev), RPC (Cand) Founder/President NightShift Street Ministries