Thank you for your support!

Thank you to everyone who supported the St. Stephen's Stompers Team in the Coldest Night of the Year walk held in February!  Although the walk was organized virtually this year and team members walked individually, the event was still a huge success.

The St. Stephen's Stompers was made up of 16 Team Members and we had 107 sponsors who helped us raise $8,720 for Island Crisis Care Society.  There are still donations coming in so our total will be even higher.  Donations can be made online until March 31st  St Stephens Stompers (e2rm.com) 

Island Crisis Care Society is a non-profit based in Nanaimo and Oceanside. They had a goal of raising $40,000 this year to help people in crisis stabilize and find the support, resources and services they need through housing and outreach programs.  Nineteen teams and 102 walkers in total helped them to exceed their goal!

Special thanks goes out to our Team Leader, Kevin Nicholson, for his amazing leadership and encouragement.  Below is a special poem Kevin wrote for the United Way that speaks so well of the hope that can be found.   (used with permission)

Choices

Around a table we sat
Five different examples of
Homelessness and poverty

We don't know each other
Outside the lunch hour
But have one thing in common
....choices

For different reasons we find
Ourselves ecking out a day to day
Existence of survival...

That girl, she escaped from a abusive
Relationship and now lives
Out of her truck and needs support

That young couple found each other
A couple years back while searching
Through garbage bins for food

That elderly lady sitting across from me
Lives in a garage with no amenities, as
She can't afford housing and feed herself

And as for myself I am living in a tent
Wondering if my retirement choice
Was such a wise move after all

We all shared what we felt safe to share
And as the days and weeks passed by
We connected with different agencies

Three years later we find ourselves all
In different situations but still in contact
Sharing our experiences and choices

The truck lady, she's parked her pick-up
And has been receiving professional help
The young couple are expecting a child
And have subsidized housing
The elderly lady has found a home
Through affordable housing for seniors
And as for myself I've reached out beyond
My comfort zone and share my skillsets
And use my tent for just camping now

By us all accessing different agencies in
Our communities, some private, some
Professional, some community based,
We had the means to correct our choices

And, you might wonder who the fifth
Person at the table was...well, He is always
There with me no matter what...my
Lord and Savior...Jesus Christ.

Kevin Nicholson Dec/2020