Community volunteer collective helps vulnerable Edmontonians downtown
Various community and faith groups put differences aside and gathered Sunday to help hand out warm food and wellness kits to vulnerable Edmontonians.
Volunteers from the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), McDougall United Church, Bent Arrow and Human Concern International prepared 200 bowls of chilli and kits with hygiene items to be distributed in the downtown core.
For the past year, McDougall Church has established a relationship with MAC to share their space for prayers and community projects, explained Larry Derkach, church council chair.
"It's been our vision to build this into a community hub that can be of much greater service to the community than we have been able to do as a small congregation," Derkach added.
A volunteer prepares chilli in the McDougall United Church's kitchen (CTV News Edmonton/Jessica Robb).
Majda Jimali, a MAC volunteer, says the two different faiths find more common ground than people think, especially when it comes to service.
"It seems inevitable that we would come together and work on these things together," Jimali said.
"We pool our talents together," she added. "We pool our budgets together… Everyone pooling in, pitching in makes the project bigger, and we can serve more people."
Majda Jimali speaks with CTV News Edmonton (CTV News Edmonton/Jessica Robb).
For Laila Elkadri with Human Concern International, having diverse people makes it easier to help vulnerable Edmontonians who also come from different backgrounds.
"Bringing in that diversity and inclusivity and mixing it together and showing each other that we're all really the same opens up our understanding of others' backgrounds," Elkadri told CTV News Edmonton.
Volunteers prepare chilli in the McDougall United Church's kitchen (CTV News Edmonton/Jessica Robb).
Imane Ait Daoud works in the mental health field. She volunteered to help Sunday to bring her practice into action.
"Coming out here, doing something hands-on gives me a different opportunity to help," she said. "These opportunities are a good way to get people who don't usually interact to interact. It's a great way to connect.
"When we do that, when we create those opportunities and spaces, then we create a huge opportunity for the future Edmonton," Ait Daoud added. "For these spaces to become more alive and people can become more comfortable reaching across [to help]."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bloc MPs will vote confidence in Liberal government next week: Blanchet
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is likely doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
Here's why you should get all your vaccines as soon as possible
With all these shots, some Canadians may have questions about the benefit of each vaccine, whether they should get every shot and how often to get them, and if it's safe to get them all at once or if they should space them out.
Teen faces new charge in Sask. high school arson attack
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
'I'm here for the Porsche': Video shows brazen car theft in Mississauga
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
First-of-its-kind facility hopes to launch Canada into rare earths market
A Saskatchewan organization is breaking ground as the first to commercially produce rare earth metals in North America.
Jeremy Dutcher makes Canadian music history
Jeremy Dutcher made Canadian music history Tuesday night by winning a second Polaris Music Prize for his second album, Motewolonuwok.
DEVELOPING Exploding electronic devices kill 20, wound 450 in second day of explosions in Lebanon
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000. Here are the latest updates.
RCMP feared they didn't have enough evidence to hold terror suspect sought by U.S.
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
Federal government to further limit number of international students
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It’s the government’s latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.