The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every part of our daily lives. 105 Gibson Centre greets you with our blessings and wishes everyone well!
105 Gibson Centre has been closed to the public since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Yet we did not stop caring for the community. In fact, we continue to serve through two essential services: Food Bank and Counselling. Coordinating the logistics is not easy and we thank our users and the community for their trust and patience, so that families can still be cared for during this time. So how did we deliver these services when the Centre is closed?
FOOD BANK
Before COVID-19, our Food Bank operates on a basis of receiving food donations from the community and clients picking up food at our Centre. With the closure, both collection and distribution of food have become impossible.
With a significant drop in food collection, we appeal to the public for financial donations so we can purchase food and other necessity items for the families. Meanwhile our volunteers tirelessly prepare packages to be delivered to our clients’ doorsteps, thus ensuring that they do not need to take public transit at this time. From March 30 to April 24, 8 volunteers have already delivered food boxes to 50 families in Scarborough and Markham.
Some clients have already expressed their appreciation:
“Thank you very much for your generosity and love, God bless this beautiful work, we are grateful for the physical and spiritual food. Your prayers also help us a lot. See you soon.”
“Thank you so much for this box. I really appreciate everyone who made this available. God bless you and your team. My kids love it, we all feel blessed because of you.”
Visit www.105gibson.com/support-our-food-bank if you wish to donate to the Food Bank. Be sure to check “Food Bank” on the first question. We will use 100% of the donation to buy food and necessities for the food bank clients during this pandemic period.
COUNSELLING
Another essential service is Counselling. Although we cannot provide in-person sessions now, we are able to provide regular counselling sessions through phone calls. For details on our Counselling Services, please visit www.105gibson.com/counselling
This pandemic is something that we have not experienced before. It’s not unusual for people to experience anxiety, stress or fear during this time. Have you experienced any of the below?
- Financial hardships due to loss of income;
- Being home-bound in self-isolation;
- Fearing the uncertainty and anxiety for what may be next, how it may affect graduation or university applications;
- Concerns about existing health issues and increased vulnerability to COVID-19;
- Feeling stressed at home with children;
- Questioning God about His existence and presence?
105 Gibson Counselling Helpline (FREE)
Phone / Text: 647.918.1205
Email: counselling@105gibson.com
WeChat ID: counselling105Gibson
Please leave us a text or message along with your name and contact phone number. We will respond within one business day.
We have launched a free COVID-19 Counselling Helpline to support people who are emotionally affected. Give us a call if you are emotionally affected and our counsellors can help you relieve the stress.
FREE ONLINE CLASSES
Our users have always enjoyed the high quality classes at 105 Gibson and have built a deep friendship with the instructors and other students. Despite there are other courses on the internet, they still miss the courses at the Centre. We are now offering some of our Community Classroom and Abundant Life Institute courses online for FREE! This will allow our users to enjoy the courses taught by their favourite instructors.
105 Gibson Abundant Life Institute is co-organizing an ALI Talk with the Chinese Canadian Heart and Brain Association in which Dr. Chi-Ming Chow speaks on the topic of “What Should Patients with Cardiac Issues Know during Pandemic”.
Also, Youth Services is hosting “Meditation on Scripture” workshop in May, teaching how to use spiritual disciplines and different methods of quietness to listen to God, to self and to draw nearer to God.
During this season we continue to bring classes to the community. We hope that this can help us stay connected while exploring new interests.
MOBILIZING MASKS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
Mobilizing Masks for Health Care Providers, a grassroots organization consisting of physicians and advocates, is partnering with 105 Gibson Centre and CAA Club Group to create a large-scale mask donation drive.
The goal is to bring masks to frontline healthcare workers at hospitals and long-term care facilities in the GTA. MMHCP has delivered more than 240,000 masks, 6,060 face shields, 7,940 gloves and 220 gowns to 64 health care institutions across Canada in the last month.
You can be part of this! It does not matter if you are donating individually or from corporations or other businesses, if you have masks to donate, please sign up at www.105gibson.com/mobilizing-masks-for-health-care-providers/ and someone will contact you regarding pick up.
