For the third consecutive year, Darlene Hannam, aka Cynthia Darlene, reached out to the Cavan/Bethany/Millbrook community through Facebook seeking donations for clients of the Peterborough Men’s Shelter. The community responded.
This initiative was inspired by the reaction Darlene received a few years ago when she dropped off some of her late father’s possessions to the Brock Mission. The enthusiasm of the organization’s response was surprising. It struck her that fundraising efforts for homeless men received less enthusiastic support than those helping women and children, a sentiment that intensified as the construction of a new men’s shelter was delayed several times, despite the compelling need. Darlene vowed to find a way to support this underserved group.
As in previous years, donations of personal products and gently-used men’s clothing and footwear were left on their porch for pick up. Facing hardships of their own, some people responded with encouragement and expressed plans to donate in the future.
In early December, Darlene travelled around collecting donations and was delighted to drive a loaded car to the shelter, feeling almost as grateful to the community as the recipients. Some of the items were even decorated with small candy canes.
The shelter acknowledged the gifts from our community with a note of thanks on their Christmas tree recognizing our area. Darlene wanted to be sure that message of thanks was delivered. THANK YOU! KG
