Boyle Street Community Services
10116 105 Avenue T5H0K2 Edmonton, AB, Canada

We're grateful for Blue Goose Edmonton Pond who put together these thank you boards for our staff! Blue Goose is a not-for-profit association that welcomes anyone that works either directly or indirectly with the insurance industry. Blue Goose got involved in On Side Restoration's Drive-Thru Fundraiser in October and asked participants to write thank you messages to our staff. Our staff appreciate this thoughtful gesture, especially since we could all use a morale boost during these difficult times. To Blue Goose, all the co-hosts, and Edmonton at large: thank YOU.

Hosting a holiday fundraiser for Boyle Street is a unique opportunity to do good by doing what you love. Whether your fundraiser is big or small, every gift has a great impact on our community members’ lives. Take Brian for example- he's nestled in to some donated blankets to keep warm this morning. We’ve made a list of fundraisers you could host with your friends, family or colleagues to benefit Boyle Street. Here are just a few suggestions: 1. Teach your own masterclass. ... Do you bake a great cake? Teach a virtual workshop and collect donations of cash or essential items for Boyle Street as admission. 2. Host an event or challenge. Spread warmth and cheer with a drive-up hot chocolate stand or challenge your friends to a virtual bikeathon in your home gyms, then donate the proceeds to Boyle Street. 3. Run a donation drive. Collect donations of socks and underwear from your friends, family or community and drop them off at our Community Centre. Check out www.boylestreet.org/fundraiser for information and support on how to host a self-led fundraiser this season!

We're looking for meal sponsors this holiday season! Meal sponsorship has been a Boyle Street holiday tradition since our inception in 1971. While we can't welcome volunteers into our Centre at this time, sponsoring a meal is a great way to support our city's most vulnerable on behalf of your friends, family, cohort, or colleagues in a safe and convenient way. Visit www.boylestreet.org/meal to learn more about our available sponsorship options.

Our hearts are still full of thanks from the success of our Thanksgiving meal this weekend. Thank you to our volunteers and sponsors for helping us serve meals to our community members, and while it looked different because of COVID-19, we are grateful for how the event turned out. Thanks for the great coverage CTV Edmonton

Today, we’re giving thanks. We’re thankful for our generous sponsors and volunteers for preparing and serving a warm and hearty Thanksgiving lunch to our community members. Today’s Thanksgiving lunch included cuts of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, roasted veggies, cranberry sauce, and an apple fritter for dessert. ... While this year’s holiday lunch looked a little different due to COVID-19 restrictions, we’re incredibly thankful for our sponsors and volunteers for making today feel special regardless. We’re thankful to the Edmonton's Food Bank and Rotary Club of Edmonton West for sponsoring our meal, the NAIT Culinary Team for prepping and cooking, and to Arcadia for sponsoring beverages and volunteering their time to serve lunch to members of our community. We’re thankful that these groups see our community members as resilient and deserving of an extra-special meal this weekend, and for taking time out of their holiday to show our community some love. In case we haven’t said it enough already: Thank you!

Are you looking for an easy way to support our community on behalf of your family, friends, teammates, or coworkers? Sponsoring a meal is one of our three options to "Get Involved" this holiday season and is a fantastic way to show our community members some love! Pictured is community member Mona, who is enjoying a hearty soup and sandwich for lunch at our Community Centre. Our community kitchen brings staff, clients, and the public together to develop a healthy, nourishe...d and connected community. Your sponsorship will help to feed those experiencing homelessness and poverty amidst the pandemic and the challenges presented by our city’s winter months. By sponsoring a meal, you can help to feed Edmonton’s most vulnerable and spread the kindness that defines Edmontonians during the holiday season. Interested in sponsoring a meal? Visit https://www.boylestreet.org/meal to learn more and select your sponsorship option!

We are so grateful for this new, strikingly colourful mural in our community garden, painted by Tristen Jenni Art. The mural celebrates the power of Indigenous women through the portraits of six women who contribute to the fabric of our Community Center. The second photo below shows Elizabeth McConnell posing next to her portrait (bottom left) outside the courtyard gates. Tristen is an Indigenous artist from Chakastaypasin band Saskatchewan and is Plains and Woodland Cree, a...nd currently works out of Edmonton. Here is her inspiration for the mural: In this mural, I was wanting to show our power as women no matter where we come from or where we’ve been. We are the keepers of the land. The earth we walk on, the ground we touch, the sun that warms us, connects us to her and to one another. In Indigenous culture our women have always been the keepers of the land, our mothers, our teachers, they hold the gift of life. We are all connected. Hiy Hiy. The mural is part of a series of projects focused on building relationships with Indigenous females who face barriers to inclusion in Edmonton’s inner city. Other projects included women’s wellness days at the EXPO Centre and a poetry reading at Boyle Street’s Drop-In. Thank you to Tristen (and her family, who helped paint) for this beautiful piece of art and to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph for their generous funding. A big round of applause to Rebecca, our Inner City Recreation & Wellness Program Coordinator, for her hard work in securing the funding and collaborating with our Drop-In staff to make this mural possible.

Looking to make a difference during COVID-19 without leaving your car? Our friends at On Side Restoration are hosting a one-of-a-kind donation drive by to benefit Boyle Street Community Services, taking place on Saturday, October 3rd between 11 AM and 3 PM! Drop by On Side Edmonton (18547 104 Ave) with hygiene products (new) and items for warmth (new and gently used). See the full list of accepted items on the webpage linked. As a thank you for your support, On Side Restoration will also be hosting a BBQ, some games, giveaways, and a chance to win prizes, all from the comfort of your car! More info here: https://www.onside.ca//unique-drive-thru-donation-drive-in

The C5 Hub is a light in the darkness for many of its clients during COVID-19. From helping with homework when schools transitioned online in March, to organizing a successful laptop and tablet drive, to providing food hampers to food insecure communities across Edmonton, the Hub has played a vital role in the lives of their clients in the first eight months of the pandemic. In our fifth and final blog post in our Poverty, Homelessness and COVID-19: Boyle Street Community Services' Response to the Global Pandemic series, we look at all of the ways that the C5 Hub helped to bring light into the darkness of the pandemic. https://www.boylestreet.org//poverty-homelessness-and-covi

The 24/7 Temporary Emergency Response Accommodation is in desperate need of warm winter clothing. Please bring any of the items listed in the post to the Bissell Centre Thrift Shop located at 8818-118 Avenue. Items will not be accepted at the Edmonton COnvention Centre. Thank you for your help keeping community members warm this winter!

Last Saturday, our friends at On Side Restoration hosted a HUGE drive-thru fundraiser for us. Our relationship with On Side Restoration started in July when our Community Centre experienced a major flood in our basement. We had contracted On Side Restoration to respond to the damage caused by the flood, and the relationship between our two organizations flourished quickly. As a result, the team at On Side Restoration decided to support our community by hosting a huge drive-...thru fundraiser for us, offering donors the opportunity to enjoy a drive-by BBQ, play games, and win giveaways. Lisa Nykoluk, Manager of Business Development at On Side Restoration stated, Given [Boyle Street Community Services’] tireless hours in giving back to the community, fostering a way for the organization to gain something from this challenging time was the least that we could do. Our industry restoration partners and crew were all eager to make a difference, especially right now due to the pressure of COVID-19 on businesses and organizations alike. The drive-thru fundraiser raised a total of $13,842.45, plus new and gently used in-kind donations of warm winter clothing and accessories. Wow! _ A variety of co-hosts worked alongside On Side Restoration to make this event possible, (many of which donated their time, labour, supplies, and provided an in-kind donation to our organization) including: Hazmasters CEP Forensic Skyline QS Consultants Ltd The Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International - Edmonton Pond The Press Gallery Dry Cleaning Edmonton/CRDN Edmonton Envirospec Solutions Inc. Northern Alberta Mascot Performers Salco Group Demolitions Popowich Meat Company - On Side Restoration also secured generous financial donations for our organization from Intact Insurance, Phoenix Roofing Ltd/W4 Demolition, Rahall Electric, Rahall Mechanical HVAC, and Titan Flooring & Interior Design LTD. We are beyond grateful to our friend at On Side Restoration and their many co-hosts for finding fun, creative, and safe ways to collect donations and interact with supporters. Thank you all so much for your commitment to supporting our organization!

Our community is in a struggle for survival daily. Crisis is their bottom line Now throw in a global pandemic, says Ian Mathieson, Co-Lead on Boyle Street's COVID-19 Response Committee. They have to stay 6 ft apart and wash their hands, but where? Wear a clean mask, but how? Sometimes the community we serve has more immediate concerns that need to be addressed day-to-day that can take precedence over prioritizing COVID precautions. This is a huge challenge when it comes to keeping people safe from the virus. In our third blog post of the series, "Poverty, Homelessness and COVID-19: Boyle Street Community Services' Response to the Global Pandemic," we take a deep dive into the policies and procedures keeping staff and clients safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.boylestreet.org//poverty-homelessness-and-covi

We want to show some love for our community partners Arcadia and Sea Change Brewing Co. for organizing and hosting three successful bottle drives this summer, fundraising over $3,500 for our organization! In June, our inaugural bottle drive raised $1,155.05. In July, our second bottle drive raised $1,682.45. Our latest bottle drive raised $678.45, for a whopping grand total of $3,515.95 for Boyle Street Community Services! We couldn’t have done it without the support of o...ur community partners, our donors who dropped off their empties at Sea Change and Arcadia, and City Centre Bottle Depot, who went above and beyond to process our huge bottle drop-offs! Thank you, Arcadia Brewing Co. and Sea Change Brewing Co.! -- Missed our bottle drives this summer? Don’t worry we've got more planned for the future! Still want to support us but don’t want to wait? You can donate today by visiting www.boylestreet.org/donate

Today, our lunch was sponsored by the NHL Official Association: Referees' Association. Our clients had their choice of a delicious ham or turkey sandwich prepared by our friends at MilkCrate accompanied by soup and fruit salad prepared in our kitchen. We are so grateful for the support from community partners, near and far, to feed the folks accessing services at our Community Centre. Thank you, NHL and MilkCrate!

When the Vegas Golden Knights saw us from the window of their hotel across the street during the NHL playoffs and decided to buy a pizza lunch from Panini's Italian Cucina for our clients, they sparked the generosity of hundreds of fans across international borders. Following two Reddit posts where fans decided they wanted to continue the initiative, Robert Caruso and his team at Panini's Italian Cucina made it happen by creating a webpage where anyone, anywhere could donate... to provide pizzas for our community members. To date, fans have donated 597 pizzas, which will give our clients a pizza lunch every Monday for the next 25 weeks (!!!) *This photo shows only a few of the names and locations of the people who have donated to make today’s pizza lunch possible. Thank you to the fans from Las Vegas, Nevada for extending such incredible generosity to our community here in Edmonton, even though most of you may have never met us! Another huge thank you to Robert and the Panini's Italian Cucina team for working to keep up with this outpouring of generosity, serving the pizza to our clients in person, and making this initiative possible. We are overwhelmed by the way your generosity has shone during these difficult times.

COVID-19 has a negative effect on everyone's mental health. Changes in our day-to-day lives, the push for people to stay home and to isolate if they are feeling unwell, the global nature of the pandemic, and a general sense of disconnect and uncertainty have a significant impact on the mental wellness of many; this is especially true for individuals experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. In our fourth blog post of the series, "Poverty, Homelessness and COVID-19: Boyle Stree...t Community Services' Response to the Global Pandemic," we look into how Boyle Street's Mental Health and Recreational Services provided throughout the pandemic has helped uplift clients during these unprecedented times. https://www.boylestreet.org//poverty-homelessness-and-covi Special thanks to PlanIt Sound for use of their Edmonton EXPO Centre timelapse embedded within the post!

Last week, The Alberta Addicts Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR) Team assembled 100 bagged lunches for community members in our courtyard. The AAWEAR Team came together to pack these lunches in honour and memory of two recently departed friends. Our physical distancing guidelines only allows us to welcome 45 community members at a time in the building. This means that, often, those waiting outside to access services miss our meal service. The AAWEAR team made sure that there was enough lunch for everyone to enjoy that day! Thank you!

The purpose of Boyle Street is to get people to a place where they are less vulnerable, explains Marliss Taylor, Director of Health Services for Boyle Street. The programs and services that Boyle Street has been offering for decades to empower our community members and to get them to a place where they are less vulnerable are still important and even more relevant during COVID-19. In our second blog post of the series, "Poverty, Homelessness and COVID-19: Boyle Street Community Services' Response to the Global Pandemic" entitled "Health and Safety Precautions," Marliss Taylor, the Director of Health Services for Boyle Street provides an in-depth look at how Boyle Street is keeping community members and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.boylestreet.org//poverty-homelessness-and-covi

September 30th is Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day was created in 2013 as a way to recognize the long-standing impacts of the residential school system and to honour the children and families who were impacted. Today, we wear orange to honour First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Indigenous peoples. We honour our friends, families, and community members who have been affected by the residential school system. We honour those who still suffer as a result of the intergenerational... trauma and systemic racism created and upheld by the residential school system. We honour those who suffered at the hands of cultural genocide; the survivors, those we lost, and those who still suffer today. On September 30th, we wear orange as a symbol of recognition and to reaffirm our commitment to Indigenous reconciliation and healing. To learn more about the initiative, you can visit https://www.orangeshirtday.org/ #OrangeShirtDay #OrangeShirtDay2020 #EveryChildMatters

What a beautiful harvest! Our C5 partners EMCN: Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers generously donated extra produce collected from their final harvest of the year at Northlands Urban Farm this weekend. Northlands, Urban Farm is a 1-acre community plot in the heart of #yeg that grows greens. EMCN runs the Global Gardeners group, where their clients and volunteers participate in the growing and harvesting of fresh produce (like the potatoes and carrots pictured!) EMCN encouraged their clients and volunteers to take home as much produce as they wanted, and there was still plenty leftover that they decided to generously donate to our Community Centre. Thank you, EMCN and the Global Gardeners! Our kitchen will be making great use of this fresh produce.

Our partners in the C5 Edmonton North East Hub Terra Centre is hosting "Laughs Over Lunch", a virtual fundraiser in support of young parents in our city. Check out this post from Terra Centre for Teen Parents for tickets and more information! #yegfundraiser

Bring your empties down to Arcadia's NEW location in Manchester Square (120 St and 107 Ave NW) this Sunday, September 20th, from 12 PM 'til 3 PM for our latest bottle drive! As always, thanks to our wonderful partner Arcadia Brewing Co. for hosting another Boyle Street Bottle Drive. We'll see you on Sunday!

Today is Be More Kind Day! On September 11th, 2018, English singer-songwriter Frank Turner came to our Community Centre to perform an exclusive, acoustic show for our community members. Frank Turner was on his "Be More Kind" tour, and worked closely with our friends at Arcadia to encourage the City of Edmonton to proclaim the day as "Be More Kind Day"! Today, we're celebrating Be More Kind Day by having a barbeque for our community members. Today's event was organized and sp...onsored by Arcadia and RE/MAX Elite, with generous support from Alley Kat Brewery, Sustainable Food Edmonton, David Shepherd, MLA, and Ironworkers Local 720 Union. Music was provided by Baby Boy from Baby Boy and the Earthly Delights. Thank you for your support of our community and taking today to BE MORE KIND! #BeMoreKindDay #BeMoreKind #TimeForKindness

Introducing "Poverty, Homelessness and COVID-19: Boyle Street Community Services' Response to the Global Pandemic," our new five-part blog post series that details our response to COVID-19. Each post will include how we're providing services, how we're protecting ourselves and others, and how we're working hard to keep our community safe, and well-served. Stay tuned for new posts every Thursday over the next four weeks. The first in the series, "Community Centre Precautions" ...interviews Boyle Street's Drop-In Manager and highlights all that staff are doing to keep community members and themselves safe during a global pandemic. Read it here: https://www.boylestreet.org//poverty-homelessness-and-covi

What a successful first season for our community garden! With generous support from Sustainable Food Edmonton, our Drop-In Program Coordinator Dan and his team of volunteers started this garden from the ground up in the courtyard beside our Community Centre. This summer, the garden hosted community activities including a tie-dye workshop and Boyle Street's Pet Food Bank. Thank you to Inner City Recreation & Wellness Program, Lady Flower Gardens, and all the dedicated volunteers who helped us along the way. Our community garden is proof that good things grow when people come together.

Today, Mini Kitchen served 62 bowls of homemade vegetable soup to our members at our Community Centre. Owners Damini and Connor recognize the importance of community and create organic products with locally-sourced ingredients. Damini and Connor sell their products at farmers markets across city as well as in their shop Mini Kitchen and ElGringo Foods - Chips and Salsa. Thank you, Damini and Connor!

A huge thank you to Awash Ethiopian Restaurant for providing 102 meals to our community members on Wednesday! It's through the support of businesses like you that our community members are able to eat healthy, hearty meals as we begin a new season.

Edmonton North East Hub and Ubuntu is a collaborative partnership between Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, EMCN: Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, Terra Centre for Teen Parents, Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre, and Boyle Street Community Services. The hub provides a safe space for families to access services in North East Edmonton. Programs include employment services, family and youth services, children's programs and senior services. The Hub also has a wonderful Community Pantry Program for community members affected by the pandemic. They are currently looking for volunteers, and would love your help! Please connect with [email protected] to help deliver food hampers to community members needing assistance during these times.

WE DID IT! We successfully raised OVER $60,000 during the Boyle Street 40 Fundraising Challenge! Our final fundraising amount: $61,432.75! We are so overwhelmed by the amount of support we received during our first-ever peer-to-peer fundraiser. We are so grateful for our Team Captains, Team Members, and our Donors! Thank you so much, Edmonton, for showing your support for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in our city. We could not have done this without you. THANK... YOU! #BS40Challenge _ The Boyle Street 40 Fundraising Challenge is a choose-your-own-challenge style fundraiser designed to be as inclusive and versatile as possible! Teams will perform a challenge of their choice on August 29th to fundraise for Boyle Street Community Services, an Edmonton-based charity organization that serves and empowers people experiencing homelessness and poverty. It's our goal to raise $40,000 for Boyle Street Community Services. Remember: it's not about what you do, it's about why you're doing it! Special thanks to our wonderful production company A-Squared Communications!

Today is Overdose Awareness Day, and we are proud to be an organization that centers its work around harm reduction policy and practice. Today, we want to extend our gratitude and thanks to our hardworking staff who continue to educate on harm reduction and overdose awareness, not only in our organization but across the City. We want to acknowledge the far too many of our friends and family who we have lost to the overdose crisis. Dan, Boyle Street's Community Centre Drop-in Support Worker, created a video to highlight how the overdose crisis affects community members and staff working at Boyle Street.

TODAY'S THE DAY! Today, our teams will be completing the challenge of their choice for the #BS40Challenge! As you complete your challenges, don't forget to tag us and include the hashtag #BS40Challenge on all your updates to keep us posted and get featured! We are so excited to see you ride, run, hike, dance, or do whatever it is you are doing today as we work together to raise $55,000 for Boyle Street’s 40+ programs and services in support of individuals and families expe...riencing poverty and homelessness in Edmonton. Let’s do this!

Tomorrow, August 29th, is Challenge Day for the #BS40Challenge! We've successfully surpassed our original fundraising goal of $20,000, AND we've surpassed our stretch goal of $40,000! Our teams are still working hard to continue fundraising for us, and we're hoping to push the bar even closer to $55,000! Can you help us? Your support for the #BS40Challenge benefits individuals and families experiencing homelessness and poverty. To help us in our continued efforts, donate by visiting www.boylestreet.org/40challenge TODAY!