Give a damn
On Saturday, I got to participate in the inaugural GiveADamn Day sponsored by United Way’s GenNext.
I met up with Rebecca Chesley – Program Manager for GenNext – outside of Good Neighbours Club on Jarvis St. Got my tee and a bit of background on the Program and then away we went.
There were 6 of us in total who signed up to help prepare meals for the club members. There are thousands of men aged 50 and older at risk who have joined over the past 77 years.
The Club offers tv rooms, computers, hot breakfast and lunch daily, telephones, showers and laundry, mailboxes and fun events. There was an Open Mic last week and an upcoming discussion group on “political issues that matter to you”.
What I was most impressed with was the quality and nutrition value of food offered during meals. When you are relying on odds and ends from food banks, restaurants, and supermarkets, it can be challenging to craft healthy meals. But Good Neighbours Club – which is funded by United Way, City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario – has created partnerships with Second Harvest and Whole Foods to ensure high amounts of healthy produce and low starch/sugar foods are received and processed for meals. Given the age of the members of the club, most are at risk of diabetes, if not already afflicted by it.
Overall, the experience was great. We got a tour of the place, met some of the members, prepared 8 massive vegetable lasagnes and then called it a day.
Filed under: Community
[...] You might have thought - with the need to turn up the volume on the trip planning - that is all I would be doing. You are so wrong. Saturday was the inaugural GiveADamn Day hosted by United Way’s GenNext . I spent the middle of the day at Good Neighbours Club preparing a meal, meeting the club members and chatting about food with Chef Lawrence. More on this here. [...]