With the summer weather upon us, it’s easy to forget about the COVID-19 pandemic. It is, however, still important to stay healthy and safe by keeping our distance and changing some of our normal practices! At Welcome Inn, we truly do want to help create a safe environment for everyone. On July 14, we will be reopening New Horizons Thrift Store! It will, however, look a bit different than before the pandemic. In an effort to keep everyone safe, we will be opening only with a few paid staff, and we won’t be selling anything except clothing to start. We’ve moved the other items to the side, so that there’s more room for you to shop! For the summer, we will be open Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00am-5:00pm.
For the past few months, you might already know that our food bank has expanded its hours of operation. Not only are we open longer each day (10:30-2:00pm), we have added an extra day (Tuesdays, 12:00-4:00pm) to provide barrier-free access for the city’s most marginalized community members, including the LGBTQ+ community and homeless individuals. Our food bank has shifted to a grab-and-go, hamper-style food bank in order to reduce the risk of transmission and keep our community members safe. And, for those who cannot access the food bank because they’ve been quarantined or have mobility issues, we are working with the City of Hamilton to ensure that emergency food hampers are delivered directly to their door.
For isolated and vulnerable seniors, Welcome Inn has gathered a dynamic team of volunteers who are now calling seniors on a daily basis, and we are partnering with the City to get emergency food hampers delivered directly to their doors. Welcome Inn has also been arranging for the delivery of personal items and medications, as well as puzzles and colouring books for seniors.
New for this summer is our remote summer day camp! Camp From Home is an exciting initiative that will give children in the neighbourhood an opportunity to connect with friends online, play games, participate in fun activities and connect one-on-one with some of our summer camp staff. Registration is now open!
If you have any questions about our programming, don’t hesitate to call us at Welcome Inn (905-525-5824).