Haven on the Queensway
1533 The Queensway M8Z 1T8 Toronto, ON, Canada

These officers may seem tough on the outside but their hearts are full of love and kindness. How do we know? Toronto 22 Division has fundraised many toys and gift cards for our children and teens in our community in need. And that's not the end of the story: Officers Lisa, Marley and Eddie helped us organize the toys at our office. Look at these toys that filled our room. And imagine the faces of the kids who will receive these sweet, thoughtful gifts! In the future, they ...will look back into the Christmas day of 2020 and remember how they were reminded of that they were valuable even everything seemed dark. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your genuine kindness.

#inspiration #quotes

The last-minute Turkey Drive! We will be handing out our turkeys to our neighbours on the 16th and the 17th so please make sure to drop off your turkey by tomorrow, December 15th! And thank YOU everyone who has been making this drive phenomenal so far. We truly appreciate you!

Hey, how are you? We would like to connect with you and help you. If you need an extra hand, we might able to give you that. Got questions? Give us a call: 416-640-2005 (Mon-Thurs, 8:30 am - 4 pm), we would love to hear from you.

If you are looking for a good movie that will warm your heart , here is one of our recommendation: The Blind Side (2009). Based on a true story, the movie stars Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, and Quinton Aaron as Oher. It portrays the meaning of hope, love, healing and kindness. "You're changing that boy's life."... "No. He's changing mine." "You threaten my son, you threaten me." #movierecommendation #theblindside

If you live in Canada, you surely know 'Second Cup', the largest Canadian specialty coffee retailer. But not everyone knows about the story behind one of its founders, Frank O'Dea. Frank O’Dea’s life went off the rails in his early teens. Simply put, he was homeless, panhandling day by day to survive through each day. Darkness was his long friend. Against all odds, with the courage to hope for a better life, and the spirit to forge ahead, he decided to change his life.... Within a few years, he co-founded The Second Cup, which began as a tiny kiosk at a shopping mall that sold six blends of specialty coffee beans. Today, besides his business job, he is active in giving back to the community. One of his works includes Street Kids International, an organization he co-founded to help homeless children in third world countries, through education and self-reliance programs. No pressure, no diamonds. You have the power to change not just your life but also the entire community. #monday #goodmorning #mondaymotivation #homeless #secondcup #secondupcoffee #truestory #frankodea #Canadian #inspiration #motivation See more

Covid has brought an interesting fashion item...a face mask! Now, it has become an essential item to wear especially when you go indoors or to places where other people are expected in close proximity. Brittany from Fancy Face Inc (www.fancyface.ca) went one more step further. She thought if wearing a mask is inevitable, it should be a good experience. So she decided to make a bunch of beautiful handmade masks and drop them off at our office. Along with the masks, she also donated bags of beautiful personal care products. Because self-care is an important key to happiness! Thank you Brittany and Fancy Face team for sharing your warm heart with us. Your kindness is surely contagious - it will touch so many people, and it has done so already.

What a great friend we have in Kipling Sobeys Store 741 They are extremely helpful, generous, and kind. In the past few months, they have gone above and beyond in the following: donated nutritious hampers that clients were able to convert into meals for themselves and their families.... donated food items that we were able to redirect where needed, including to hungry adults, children, and vulnerable seniors. donated complete Christmas packages to our top three most vulnerable families. Every week they donate several dozen food hampers to our clients. They are kind enough to ask what we need and provide abundantly based on those needs. Thank you, Kipling Sobeys. You make a difference. You make our community better!

The Coldest Night of the Year, our annual fundraiser, is back! #cnoy21 The Coldest Night of the Year is family-friendly walk to raise money for charities serving people experiencing homelessness, hurt, and hunger. This time, to adapt to the current health crisis, we have implemented two options: you can walk virtually or in-person on February 20th, 2021. Haven on the Queensway proudly represents Etobicoke (West Toronto) area (https://cnoy.org/location/etobicoke). Our Goal i...s to raise $50K to help our neighbours in need. Registration is open now! First 100 people that raises $500 will receive a cute hoody To find forms: https://cnoy.org/tools If you have any questions, please contact our office or our Special Event Director: [email protected]

Gib-San Pools and Dundas Street Grille dropped off a heart-warming lunch for our volunteers yesterday. How was it? Awesome - it was thoughtfully packed by Dundas Street Grille with lots of love...Need I say more? Muchas gracias!

Because Christmas is all about Joy, Love, Hope and Peace... ps. Don't forget our two big Christmas Drives - Toy Drive and Turkey Drive! Tomorrow (December 10th) will be the last day for our Toy Drive. We will be handing out turkeys to our neighbours in need on December 16th and 17th (so it is ideal to drop off your turkeys before those dates!)

Snow covers all with its white blanket. It quiets down the city's vibes that can often be noisy and empty. We hope your heart is calm and peaceful as well. And stay always safe!

The most significant thing you are doing right now may not be a 'thing' you do but 'someone' you are raising. We accept baby clothes and shoes. Baby wipes are always in great need. If your baby grows out of his/her cute jackets or pants, share them with us to bless other babies too!

#Monday #Motivation: When someone's potential doesn't bloom but gets wasted, it is not just a tragedy to that person - it is a terrific tragedy to the whole community. Everette Taylor (instagram.com/everette) is an example who was determined to live his life despite hardships. Once a homeless boy, now he has his own company.... You think the storm is too strong? You are a diamond. Storms can't break you - they only make you root deeper.

One of the things that make the Christmas Dinner more special is a well roasted, aromatic turkey on the centre of the table! We are doing a Turkey Drive for this. Christmas We will be handing out turkeys to our neighbours on December 16th & 17th to make their Christmas more special. May our gobble-let overfloweth this Christmas...

Keep going. Keep hustling. Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day-in and day-out.

If you have not done it yet... It is time to organize your closet: summer clothes out, winter clothes in! Gently-used and clean but not wanted any more items in a box to the Haven on the Queensway ps. A recent update from our Haven's Closet: We are looking for children's snow pants , especially in sizes from 10 to 16. Got any good ones? Give them us, and we will be gladly delivering them to the right hands!

We remember Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) as the First Lady of Song and Queen of Jazz. We do not remember her as someone who was orphaned, used, delinquent, and homeless. "It isn't where you came from; it's where you're going that counts." #inspiration #ellafitzgerald

We still remember the days when we used to sneak peek at the mom's kitchen cabinet to find out what she has got in store for snacks. It was always a pleasant surprise to open up the brown snack bag during recess to find the treasure inside that mom had put into my backpack early in the morning. A good snack made the day much more exciting. We would like to give the same sweet pleasure to our school-aged kids whom we serve. A heartwarming snack will make a good memory that goes for a very long time. If you have snacks you can share with the kids in our community, please share. We will make sure to deliver them to the right hands!

The battle is still ongoing. We do not lose our hope. We are better and stronger together. We are proudly #Canadian . We love its people, its nature, its animals, Thinking of our beautiful brothers and sisters of this blessed country today. Always stay healthy and strong. Always stay blessed and hopeful.

"It is like homemade!" This is a great compliment to food purchased at a restaurant/store. It implies that the ingredient is carefully selected and the food is delicately and lovingly cooked as if you are feeding your own family. "It is like homemade!" is our expression to pies www.instagram.com/thepiecommission... The best part? They have donated their pies for Thanksgiving last weekend so that our neighbours could put their pies on their tables and eat it with their families, celebrating Thanksgiving together. The Pie Commission, you guys make us hap-pie.

It is a raining day today We hope you keep safe, warm, and dry today! ....and just because it is raining outside, we are sharing a beautiful quote about rain:... Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain" by Vivian Greene.

Your day is always better with a good night's sleep. We need winter sleeping bags to help our neighbours on the street have safe and warm sleep at night! For any questions or more information, please give us a call at 416-640-2005 directly!

Sharing should NEVER become a means to rip you off of joy. In other words, sharing should be done not out of burden, guilt, or fear but a joyful heart. When you sow a seed of love and kindness, it will bear fruits abundantly. Then, these fruits get to fly farther and deeper than we would have ever imagined. It is what only love can do. UFly Simulator's voucher donated to the Haven on the Queensway was a seed of generosity and love that was sown in joy. A couple of days ago,... we thought we would love to award it to David (on the right in the picture) to express our gratitude. David pleasantly stepped outside of his comfort circle and raised more than $3K for our Ride for Refugee event that happened on October 3rd. David and his team's captain Arthur (on the left in the picture) showed us how an act of love can bring a great change. We were just being a bridge that delivered UFly Simulator's generosity to him, but what an honor to have been able to part of this wonderful circle of love. You ARE our motivations. We are pleased to serve alongside you. Thank you.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It's have been a bumpy year but you have been doing great. We appreciate you. You are a blessing. Happy Thanksgiving!