Counting down to the Wolseley Miracle

Wolseley

This is a busy time for a team of miracle-makers organizing the sixth annual Wolseley Miracle, a crowd-sourced, post-Christmas food drive that began in the winter of 2020. Modelled after food drives in other large cities, the Wolseley Miracle began as an effort to bring the community together while respecting public health orders to remain apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, it is a volunteer-run, one-day food drive that generates a truck full of non-perishable food donations for a local agency that meets emergency food needs in the community.

“I borrowed the idea from a friend of mine who worked in food security in Toronto,” said long-time Wolseley resident Melissa Bowman Wilson, who started and continues to manage the Wolseley Miracle with Larissa Skakum Boning, Grace Sheppard and Melina Chow.

“They were doing their own miracle (in Toronto) in 2020, and it seemed perfect to adapt to the Wolseley neighbourhood. I knew someone that was willing to participate on nearly every block in the community.” Wilson said.

This year, the Wolseley Miracle has chosen Agape Table as its recipient.

On Dec. 27, between 1 and 3 p.m., residents on participating blocks and streets are invited to leave donations of non-perishable foods on their front steps. Volunteers on each block will collect the donations and deliver them to the Wolseley Miracle team at the Old Grace Housing Co-op at Arlington Street and Preston Avenue, where they are packed into boxes and loaded onto a truck.

Wilson is grateful for local support, which includes the generosity of Wolseley Law, which has sponsored the U-Haul rental every year since the start.

“At the end of the event, volunteers drive over to Agape Table, where donations are unloaded,” Wilson said.

“It’s straightforward — the responsibilities are not overwhelming — and we have a team on hand to support people with any issues that arise.

“Our block leaders are the key to our success,” she continued. “Folks that live in Wolseley or beyond are all invited to participate. We have two jobs for block leaders — delivering flyers to the blocks you’re leading to specify arrangements for the day of the event; and the actual pickup and delivery of donations.

“One of our favourite things about how this event is set up is that the barriers to contribute are virtually non-existent. There is no minimum donation, and since donations are picked up by our leaders, donors don’t even need to change out of their PJs to participate.”

The leadership team provides posters, instructions, flyers for each participating block, and collects any missed donations. As volunteers drop off donations, coffee and cocoa are served at the courtyard at the Old Grace (weather permitting) — a perfect place to mingle and chat with other miracle-makers.

Past beneficiaries of the Wolseley Miracle were the Bear Clan Patrol, 1JustCity, and West Central Women’s Resource Centre.

Chosen recipients must provide food to community members with as few barriers to access as possible, agencies must serve the surrounding area, and they must be able to receive donations and have the capacity to store and distribute them.

“We want everyone to participate,” Wilson said. “While this is a charitable endeavour, it’s also about building community. We love that the miracle is a part of so many people’s Christmas tradition, and that we are giving neighbours an excuse to touch base during the holiday season. We’re often reminded that there are more efficient ways to get things done, but we like to think that this event is as much about neighbours connecting as it is about donating food,” she said, adding that about 50 volunteers help collect and sort food each year.

“We keep doing this for a few reasons, but primarily because the need just continues to escalate. Every year we think, ‘It’s worse than it’s been before,’ and every year that’s true. The cost of food and everything else just keeps going up,” she said. There’s a lot of evidence in our broader community that folks are struggling with the cost of living, and seeing that, my neighbours want to give back. The Miracle just makes that easy and fun. What’s not to love?”

To learn more, email wolseleymiracle@gmail.com