Volunteers needed to help feed Subury's vulnerable population
It's another huge impact of the pandemic. Many non profits like the Elgin Street Mission that rely on volunteers to operate and deliver many social services are running low on people willing to give of their time.
It comes at a time when the need to prepare more meals is rising, but volunteer numbers are down.
The Elgin Street Mission relies almost solely on volunteers to prepare breakfast and supper to feed more people struggling with food insecurity every day.
"We saw an increase of meals at 1,100 extra meals between the month of July and August and so serving that many more meals we do need more help," said Amanda Robichaud, director of the Elgin Street Mission.
Officials said their volunteer base is down by 20 per cent, making it a real struggle to meet the growing need. The Mission has now made its volunteer schedule more flexible.
"We want to be very, very flexible for the good people who give their time here," said Robichaud.
"And we know that people have busy schedules and so we have different hours during the day, during the evening and on weekends."
Officials said the volunteer shortage has forced the Elgin Street Mission to close coffee hour from 9:30-11 a.m., Monday to Friday, something clients miss dearly.
"This is where they sit together as a family and talk amongst each other," said Ginette Grandmaison, the facility supervisor.
"It's a sense of their piece of feeling of wanting and needing. They miss it a lot I hear it every day."
A recent survey by the Ontario Nonprofit Network shows 62 per cent of organizations have lost volunteers, more than half report having difficulty recruiting new ones and 40 per cent are busy convincing previous volunteers to return.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.