Siloam Mission

On November 19th, I decided to do something special with my friends for my birthday.

I came back from Vancouver a few weeks before where I volunteered in an organization with other young people. That organization helped the homeless of West Vancouver, the poorest place in Canada.

When I came back to Winnipeg, I started reading about different organizations and I also read stories about young girls who volunteered with their friends on their birthday or had a party where everyone would bring a small amount of money which would all go to charity. I was really inspired by that, so I decided to do the same thing on my birthday.

When I was in 7th grade, a group of students including myself went to Siloam Mission to volunteer in the kitchen serving food and in the basement sorting out clothes. I remembered how much fun I had and how great it would be to repeat the experience. So I contacted the volunteer services of Siloam Mission and I began organizing the event. It was so easy to plan and Candice, the woman helping me, was really nice.

When everything was in place, I sent invitations to my friends. So on November 19th, six of my friends and I went to the Madison Lodge and we were greeted by Frank who was responsible for the place and the volunteers. He started with telling us a bit of history of the building and Siloam Mission, which I found very interesting. He was really nice and had planned fun stuff for us to do.

The best part was that we could smash bathtubs with a sledge hammer! We also had to remove nails from wood, wash the ceiling, sand walls, and some other stuff. It was so much fun! We had special boots and hard hats so I felt really professional. I felt like I was on an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

After some hard work, we went downstairs to eat snacks and I got a big surprise: the staff who cooks in the lodge baked a birthday cake for me, so Frank brought it with candles and everyone was singing. It really took me by surprise but I was so thankful for that special gesture. After the snack, we went back to work. I was really into it, but it was time to go home and I had to say good-bye to Frank and my special cool hat.

Frank was really great and made it so easy for us. We all got to take a group picture and we got bags that say Siloam Mission Hearts Volunteers.

My afternoon with Siloam Mission was one of the best I’ve had. I recommend volunteering there to everyone.

-Andrée Labossière spent her 20th Birthday volunteering at Siloam Mission’s Madison Lodge. Once renovated, the Madison Lodge will offer affordable, supportive housing for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.