Reason #78 of '101 Reasons Why I Heart Edmonton'

The Nonprofits

By Emil Tiedemann

My parents had to raise four kids on next to nothing at times, and so making ends meet was often a struggle when we were growing up. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been, but I certainly appreciate it now. 

I remember there were times when we had to head over to a nearby church to grab groceries to get us through the next week or two. At the time, I had no idea why a church was handing out bags of food, and why we were so lucky. I know now that it was all part of the Edmonton Food Bank program, the first of its kind in the entire country! Without it, what would we and thousands of other hungry or even starving Edmontonians had done?! 



That’s the spirit of Edmonton though - giving, supporting, lending a helping hand wherever and whenever it is needed, without asking for anything in return. It’s that spirit that has formed countless nonprofit groups, organizations, and programs for the underprivileged, serving the community and ensuring that all lives matter here. 

Places like the Bissell Centre, Boyle Street, iHuman, Wings of Providence, Hope Mission, YESS, Habitat for Humanity, Sorrentino’s Compassion House, Little Warriors, Homeward Trust, the Mustard Seed, and of course the Food Bank have made it their mission to serve as a refuge for abused women and children, at-risk youth, and the ailing, impoverished, and homeless population, society’s most vulnerable. 

Ask any one of these indispensable groups or organizations why they do it, and they’ll likely give the same reason: ‘because we have to.’ #yeghope

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