Posted on by erinnoxford · 1 Comment

Generosity Softening the Anxiety: Current Life at The Dale

I know I’m not alone when I say that this past week has felt like a month. Life has become very different, very quickly. At The Dale we are keenly feeling the change. Accustomed to embracing people, we are standing more than six feet away. On more than a few occasions I have caught myself instinctively reaching out to greet someone, only to have to withdraw. This does not feel right. And yet, we know it is necessary at this time.

Many are asking about how The Dale is responding to the COVID-19 crisis. As a church and community organization without walls, we rely on the buildings of others and the outdoors to run our programming. All of our partner buildings have either completely shut down or halted use. We do however have access to a kitchen that is dedicated for food prep. Yesterday four of us, all keeping physically distant, prepared bagged lunches for people. We then set up a station outdoors for people to pick up the food. From behind tables and masks we encouraged people to know we love them and are doing what we can to continue supporting them. We will do the same on Thursday when we hand out take-away breakfasts.

We also have been encouraging our community members to fill out a Community Survey so that we know what help is most necessary, and how to deliver it. We have a growing list of people we can check in with by phone. We also know people’s locations so that we can safely drop off supplies and food. Important to know is that the sense of anxiety is mounting on the street. With few options of places to go, people are getting more and more scared. We need additional shelters and housing. Some of the most vulnerable people have just been made more vulnerable.

Now, here’s some of the good news. We are also experiencing people’s generosity and care. It truly does soften the anxiety. Here are just a few of the ways The Dale is seeing light in the darkness:

A community member who until just months ago was homeless, happily received a bag of food on the sidewalk outside of her place. In turn, she had cookies for my family and a bag full of containers for The Dale to package food in.

Capital Espresso, a Parkdale cafe who regularly gives us their day-old baked goods, baked buns for us to give out. Their baker got up very early Monday morning so that we could pick them up in time for lunch that day.

Natasha, a regular volunteer at The Dale’s Monday Drop-In mobilized people to bake for us. Yesterday she arrived with individually wrapped goodies, including 500 cookies from New Moon Kitchen.

Monetary donations to The Dale have enabled us to purchase grocery cards to distribute to the community. It has been amazing to receive excited messages from people about what they were able to purchase, “I picked up meat and mushrooms and other vegetables. Thank you, thank you! I have FOOD!”

Second Harvest continues to make deliveries. Friends are leaving boxes of jars and containers on their doorsteps for us to pick up. Sanctuary, the place The Dale considers a sibling, is sharing donations with us.

Thank you to everyone who has been able to help. The Dale is committed to remaining on one of the front lines, with many precautions in place, for as long as we can. Your ongoing support is deeply appreciated. To learn more about how and what to give, visit: https://erinnoxford.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/from-one-of-the-front-lines/

Posted on by erinnoxford

Help The Dale Continue to Grow

Recently at The Dale Ministries someone remarked, “I don’t completely understand what is going on here, but I know I want to be a part of it”. What this new person immediately noticed was a place where all people are welcomed and invited to become not just acquaintances, but friends. When your normal experience is being marginalized, being treated as a friend is life changing. 

We want everyone to learn about what is going on at The Dale. And so, let’s go on a quick tour through who we are and what a week in our life looks like. 

The Dale values all people, while making intentional space for those who are dealing with poverty, addiction and mental health challenges. We invite everyone into full participation of all that we do, fostering opportunities to both give and receive. Together we are learning what it means to love God and our neighbour. As a church and community organization without our own walls, we rely on the outdoors and partnerships with other buildings to run our programming. Our well-established nomadic routine allows people to know where to find us and when. 

Each Sunday we receive a delivery of food from Second Harvest, out of which we determine a menu for our Monday Lunch Drop-In. Monday is our largest gathering, one where over one hundred people share a hot, nutritious meal. On Tuesdays you will find us in the Coffee Corner of a Thrift Store for a time of conversation, snacks and a board game. In the evening a group meets at another location to discuss and study the Bible. Wednesday afternoons and some evenings are spent walking through the neighbourhood in order to connect with people and offer support where needed. Thursday mornings we run a breakfast and art-making drop-in at a Health Centre. Sunday afternoons we set apart for our church service. Sprinkled through the week are opportunities to pastorally care for people: buying groceries for someone who is housebound, visiting a person in hospital, accompanying a friend to an important appointment. 

Since 2012, The Dale has seen steady growth. We have worked hard to develop partnerships, build a strong Board of Directors, generate financial support, cultivate relationships, and even expand our staff team. We believe that God has and continues to lead the way for The Dale. 

Our desire to love and serve our community runs deep. At this time, we would like to invite you to consider supporting the important work of The Dale. The reality is that as we grow, so does the financial burden. Your gift, coming at this time, will not only strengthen our current programming, but enable us to develop new activities and additional supports for people. 

We hope and pray that you are encouraged by the story of The Dale. We are heartened by the network of people who surround us with such care, either through volunteering, making a gift, being together in a community activity, staying in touch, offering encouragement, or praying for us. 

We are grateful for all your goodwill and support. Thank you for participating with us on this incredible journey. 

In peace and hope, 


CLICK HERE TO GIVE: https://www.thedale.org/donate/

The Dale Ministries is a Registered Charitable Organization. Tax Receipts are issued once a year. 

Posted on by erinnoxford

It’s Auction Time

The Dale is a special place, one that I write about often. We are a community organization and church without our own walls…literally: we do not have a building of our own. You can call us nomads, just nomads with a schedule. The Dale partners with others who DO have buildings and we spend a lot of time outside. It’s a great use of resources, and frees us to do what we do best: foster safe and welcoming spaces for all people, particularly those who are marginalized. We run drop-ins, provide meals, advocate for our friends, offer pastoral care and support, do street outreach, and gather for a church service on Sundays. We invite everyone into full participation, an attempt to have people experience what it means to both give and receive, a value that is too often lost when one is consistently a recipient of charity.

The Dale relies on the financial support of others for everything we do. In other words, we have to fundraise our entire budget. In order to do this we have to boldly ask for people to consider becoming a part of our support network by making a monetary donation. Admittedly this isn’t always easy. What we have found though is that it is also very good.

Which brings me to this: today we are launching an on-line auction, a fundraiser you can participate in from your mobile or desktop. There are a large number of items you can bid on, all of which have been generously donated. It is also easy to make a direct donation. Not in a position to give financially? It would be an enormous help if you would share the link with your own network.

Let’s have fun with this! The auction will run from June 18th to the 25th. Try to beat me to the wide selection of books from Harper Collins, or the tickets to the AGO, or the Dozen Glory Hole Doughnuts, or the COVETED Dale Ministries mug. See you there!

Please go to: https://www.givergy.ca/dale

Charity Art Auction Poster-3