Another Successful Run

Final delivery was made today. Grand total of scarves delivered was 233. Plus 300 pairs of thermal socks, an undetermined amount of knitted hats, mittens, headbands, etc., 200 personal care items (perfume, cologne, body wash, bars of soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner - varies depending on supplies), 100 items of jewelry, 200 christmas cards, at least 200 candy canes, 200 Words For Today, 24 gift packs for children which may or may not have included stuffed animals, coloring books, crayons, and lots of smiles and good wishes for a happy and joyous season.

There were 15 organizations on the final list. Freedom Foundation of NS and Alcare Place (transition houses for men in recovery from addictions to alcohol drugs or gambling), Marguerite Centre (an 11-bed facility for women in recovery from addictions and abuse), Direction 180 (mobile methadone outreach), three supervised apartment buildings, Herring Cove Apartments (sponsored by Shelter NS) and Stewart Place and Amethyst Apartments (Metro NonProfit Housing), Laing House and Among Friends (community centers for those living with mental illness), Souls Harbor Rescue Mission, Brunswick Street Mission, and Margaret's House (centers providing meals for the homeless and others), Stepping Stone (community outreach for sex trade workers), the Mik'maw Native Friendship Center and Club 24.

During our deliveries, members of our volunteer Board of Directors dressed in Santa suits to add a bit of holiday cheer to the event. As always, we avoided media coverage during the event, to safeguard the anonymity of our clients. Pictures are available at our facebook page, our twitter account, and our website.

The storeroom is empty. All items that were made by us or donated to us were used during the project. We have about half a dozen knitters, myself included, who are currently working on scarves for the project in 2016. It's a year-round project here at Last House on the Block Society. Addictions, abuse, homelessness, depression and anxiety don't take vacations and neither do we. The plan now is to re-organize and get ready for next year.

At this time, as co-Founder and President of Last House on the Block Society, I would like to thank all of our directors, past and present, all of our sponsors (Dartmouth Community Health Board, Abenaki Aquatic Club, and Doctors NS), all those who donated funds, items, or an extra hand wrapping, bagging, or driving the sled. And all the knitters. If you slipped us a few dollars, knitted a scarf, bought a ticket at one our draws, mentioned us to your friends, gave us a discount when we shopped, you all make the project a success. And, you should all know that you did a good thing this year.

The Warmth of The Season

During our Santa Under The Bridge project in 2014, our elves made a delivery to the Brunswick Street Mission. Many years ago, when I was homeless, I ate a few times at the mission and I remembered the warm welcome I received there. When we stopped by last year, that welcome was still there. Early this morning, some of our directors, dressed as elves, stopped in again to the Mission and were welcomed with open arms.

Next on our list was the Souls Harbor Rescue Mission on Cunard Street. We were there last year, and again the warmth and comfortable relaxed atmosphere of Souls Harbor was there to greet us. We gathered around the christmas tree, laughing and joking as if all the problems of the outside world were nonexistent. If we hadn't had other deliveries to make, we might have stayed for lunch. It sure smelled good.

Back in 2013, when we started our outreach, a friend of mine who was also on our board - Harold D. - suggested we donate some gift packs to Direction 180. Harold is no longer with us. He passed away last year, but his contribution to our cause lives on. This was our third year donating gifts to the clinic. The staff are always so pleasant and helpful. We certainly were glad we could be of assistance to them at Christmas.

It Warms Our Heart

Santa Under The Bridge 2015 is underway. So far, Last House on the Block Society elves have delivered gifts of our scarves to 7 organizations. Micmac Native Friendship Center, Freedom Foundation of NS, Margeurite Center, Herring Cove Apartments (part of Shelter NS), Laing House, Alcare Place, and Stepping Stone. There are 10 organizations left to deliver to, and we will be doing those over the next 2 weeks. 

The Santa Under The Bridge Project was created in 2013 by the Board of Directors of Last House on the Block Society and is carried out by volunteers of Last House on the Block Society. Sometimes people who are not part of our organization assist us with the deliveries and of course we try to credit those individuals whenever possible.

In 2013, one of our founding directors - Nancy Schultz - came up with the idea of knitting scarves for residents of transition houses and giving them as Christmas gifts. The first year, we had about 40 scarves. In 2014, that number was 190, and now in 2015, we have over 200 scarves. 

We do a lot of promoting on social media, posting photos, etc. There is one site that has a habit if reminding people of what they posted a year ago and so this past week we have been seeing memories from our project last year. It warms our hearts to remember what we did and why we did it. We look forward to making more memories this year 

We would also like to acknowledge the support we received from the Abenaki Aquatic Club, the Dartmouth Community Health Board, and Doctors NS. 

Hoping everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.