At The Meeting Place, our vision is to be people who unleash God’s extravagant love on Nanaimo and our world. Over the years, we’ve had a blast working together to see this vision become a reality. Below is a reminder of some of the awesome ways we’ve been able to partner with God to unleash his extravagant love on our city and the world:
CURRENTLY
TMP has groups of people who serve weekly at the Loaves & Fishes Food Bank and at the Crossroads Pregnancy Centre, both in Nanaimo. If you're interested in joining them, email admin@themeetingplace.org and we'll be glad to give you more details.
COMPASSION PARTNERSHIP
In partnership with Compassion Canada, together we were able to help lessen the effects of Covid-19 by financially supporting Iglesia Nacional Presbiteriana De Mexico El Eden (Eden Presbyterian Church), located in the community of San Juan Tulija, Chiapas, Mexico.
Our support enabled the Compassion centre in San Juan Tulija to continue to provide 130 children with emotional support, education, food security, medical care, sanitation, hygiene education and spiritual support for one year. It also enabled the Compassion centre to educate families on Covid-19 prevention measures. Our goal was to raise $20,000 by June 2021, and together, we were able to get it done by February. Amazing, TMP!
In December 2021, TMP’ers sponsored 19 children from this community. Hopefully we’ll be able serve them and their families in person in the future.
May 2021 - Read a letter from Pastor Samuel and see some photos HERE..
November 2021 - Watch a short greeting from Pastor Samuel and hear more about Compassion HERE.
Our support enabled the Compassion centre in San Juan Tulija to continue to provide 130 children with emotional support, education, food security, medical care, sanitation, hygiene education and spiritual support for one year. It also enabled the Compassion centre to educate families on Covid-19 prevention measures. Our goal was to raise $20,000 by June 2021, and together, we were able to get it done by February. Amazing, TMP!
In December 2021, TMP’ers sponsored 19 children from this community. Hopefully we’ll be able serve them and their families in person in the future.
May 2021 - Read a letter from Pastor Samuel and see some photos HERE..
November 2021 - Watch a short greeting from Pastor Samuel and hear more about Compassion HERE.
PAST INITIATIVES
JANUARY 2024 - STOCK THE SHELVES
Throughout the month of January, we "stocked the shelves" for Selby St. Mission in Nanaimo. Selby St. provides meals for people who are living on the streets. We aimed to provide the shelf stable groceries they frequently use so they can just be concerned with any fresh items.
NOVEMBER 2023 - BLANKET NANAIMO 4
"Blanket Nanaimo" became so much more as people generously donated not only blankets, but sleeping bags, tarps, towels, warm adult coats, gloves, toques, socks, and boots to help people living on the street or in their vehicle this winter. We were able to get donations to: Canadian Mental Health Association (Social Centre), Selby Street Mission, Monday Evening Street Outreach Workers, VIHA Homeless Initiative, Unitarian Church Shower Program, Manna Ministries, Happy Feet, and the Nanaimo Correctional Centre.
AUGUST 2023 - HAPPY FEET 2
We collected donations for Happy Feet, a local program that provides shoes for people in need. People living on the streets often spend most of their day on their feet with no way to replace their worn out shoes. We were able to give 60 pairs of shoes and 100 pairs of socks to pass along to people who desperately need them.
MAY/jUNE 2023 - CRAM THE PRAM 2
From May 14 through June 18, we Crammed the Pram by bringing formula, diapers, and wipes to the Avalon Theatre lobby on Sundays to benefit the Crossroads Pregnancy Centre.
FEBRUARY 2023 - SUPPLIES FOR TÜRKIYE
We heard about the devastation caused by the massive earthquake in Türkiye & Syria and the need for supplies to help the survivors, and we also heard that a TMP partner has a connection to someone physically there who would buy supplies for distribution. Once again,TMP'ers stepped up to fulfill a need and a total of $3500 was donated. Thanks, everyone, for your generosity and for helping to unleash God’s extravagant love to our neighbours on the other side of the world.
JANUARY 2023 - BLANKET NANAIMO 3
In January we collected blankets, sleeping bags, warm adult coats, gloves, and toques to help people living on the street or in their vehicle this winter. Thanks to the amazing generosity of TMPers, we were able to distribute loads of these items to FIVE different organizations throughout the Nanaimo area.
OCTOBER 2022 - HAPPY FEET
During October we supported Happy Feet, a local Nanaimo program that provides shoes for people in need. People living on the streets often spend most of their day on their feet with no way to replace their worn out shoes. Thanks to your donations, we were able to supply Happy Feet with 126 pairs of running shoes and boots and 40 pairs of socks!
MAY/jUNE 2022 - CRAM THE PRAM
You may remember TMP's previous participation in Operation Baby Bottle to benefit the Crossroads Pregnancy Centre here in Nanaimo. This year there was an added twist--we Crammed the Pram between May 8 (Mother's Day) and June 19 (Father's Day). Our challenge was to fill the large old-fashioned pram in the lobby as many times as we could with baby wipes, baby formula, diapers of all sizes (preemie diapers are always needed), new sleepers and receiving blankets.
MARCH 2022 - BOAT LOAD OF FOOD 2
Over the month of March, we helped out Loaves & Fishes Food Bank with a specific need. It was our goal to fill an inflatable boat (or two) with non-perishable food items that are always in short supply, and we filled several of them.
FEBRUARY 2022 - SEND A KID TO CAMP
In partnership with Camp Qwanoes, folks from The Meeting Place sponsored children to attend camp. In total, 12 youth were able to go to Qwanoes who may not otherwise have been able to go.
DECEMBER 2021 - BRING IT
At Christmas, we brought hope, peace, joy, and love to people and places that seemed to be without them. Read some of the stories HERE.
NOVEMBER 2021 - BLANKET NANAIMO 2
During November we had an opportunity to love our city in a practical way by helping the New Hope Centre keep people warm this winter. We collected: 38 blankets, 35 toques/hats, 33 pairs of gloves, 30 coats, 28 hoodies, 27 pairs of socks, 14 sweaters, 11 shirts, 10 pairs of pants/jeans, 9 scarves, 8 tarps, 4 neck warmers, 2 pairs of boots, 2 vests, 2 sleeping bags, 1 rope, 1 fanny pack, and 1 pair of snow pants. That's 256 Items to help those in need!
JUNE 2021 - SNACK ATTACK
During the month of June, we partnered with the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre to reach out to youth living on the streets of Nanaimo. We donated a total of 964 beverages (water, gatorade and juice boxes) and 1,125 snacks (granola bars, protein bars, noodle boxes). We were able to purchase 17 flannel sleeping bags backed with a waterproof liner that fold up very compactly. Supplies given the first half of June were distributed by the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre. Unexpectedly the funding for this outreach program was not renewed, so the rest of the supplies were passed along to the New Hope Centre (Salvation Army) to be given to the individuals in our community so desperately in need.
FEBRUARY 2021 - BLANKET NANAIMO
As the temperature got colder, we were able to help our fellow Nanaimoites stay warm. Through Blanket Nanaimo, good used blankets, sleeping bags, gloves, coats and socks were given to those who are living on the streets. It was great to partner with the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre, Wisteria Community Association and SEIA (Society for Equity, Inclusion and Advocacy) to make this initiative a success. A total of 315 items were donated.
FEBRUARY 2021 - SEND A KID TO CAMP
In partnership with Camp Qwanoes, folks from The Meeting Place sponsored children to attend camp. In total, 12 youth were able to go to Qwanoes who may not otherwise have been able to go.
NOVEMBER 2020 - FRESH START
For various reasons, many men at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre don’t have clean, seasonally appropriate clothes to wear when they're released. We were able to work together to help men get a "fresh start" by providing 33 pairs of underwear, 50 pairs of socks, 29 jackets, 3 outer vests, 40 pairs of jeans, 65 short sleeves, 2 belts, 16 ball caps, 7 jogging pants, 9 summer shorts, 9 buttoned short sleeved shirts, 29 zip up heavy shirts, 18 long sleeved shirts, 20 golf shirts, and 30 pairs of boots/shoes.
FEBRUARY 2020 - SEND A KID TO CAMP
In partnership with Camp Qwanoes, folks from The Meeting Place sponsored children to attend camp. In total, 16 youth were able to go to Qwanoes who may not otherwise have been able to go. We were also able to cover the cost of busing youth from Nanaimo to Qwanoes for day camps in the summer of 2020.
DECEMBER 2019 - CHRISTMAS ON ANOTHER LEVEL
n December 2019, we went through a series called C.O.A.L., or Christmas On Another Level, where we asked the question “What would it look like to break out of the norm and have not just a good Christmas, but a great Christmas?” We did this by encouraging everyone at TMP to find ways to show God’s love by serving their neighbours. Check out the awesome ways people at TMP celebrated Christmas On Another Level (HERE).
AUGUST 2019 - BOAT LOAD OF FOOD
Over the month of August 2019, we loved our city in a practical way by helping out Loaves & Fishes Food Bank with a specific need. It was our goal to fill an inflatable boat (or two) with non-perishable food items that are always in short supply, and we filled several of them.
MAY 2018 & 2019 - TMP WITHOUT WALLS
At TMP Without Walls, we were able to serve our community at the Loaves & Fishes food bank, and the surrounding neighbourhood. We had teams of people doing a community garbage pickup, deep cleaning the Loaves & Fishes warehouse, and running a free community BBQ picnic at Deverill Square Park. Fun times!