By: Angela, Community Engagement Coordinator
After almost a two year hiatus, ETCBC interns make their return as volunteers at St. Jude’s food bank! During my last summer working at ET, my weekly trips to the food bank were one of my most treasured experiences of the job. Now that I’m working a different position as the community engagement coordinator, I’m glad that Wednesday mornings are still a constant between these jobs. I often find myself asking why I so enjoy these early, hectic mornings, especially on my first day back as I sweated profusely through my face shield for 3 hours (sorry COVID-19 committee, I am not their #1 advocate). The answer? The faces we get to see every week; some familiar, some new, and some we are getting to the point of recognizing on sight; the persistent smiles of the hardworking volunteers who have been putting even more time and effort behind the scenes into this weekly event; and of course, the rewarding feeling of truly being able to serve and connect with the local community, even during a time of lockdown; these are the greatest gifts from volunteering at the food bank, and it’s a reward I get to reap every week of the summer. I’m already working on remembering some of these faces for the following weeks, and hopefully I’ll be able to recognize them from the crowd to hand their groceries over!
Apart from the food bank, another way this position is allowing me to serve and interact with the local community is through the annual summer fun guide. Through a 40-something paged magazine, we tried to include as much of Victoria Village, and its surrounding Toronto neighbourhoods’ gems for everyone else to experience. Being from Richmond Hill, I wasn’t very well-acquainted with the surrounding area of ETCBC (despite going here my whole life? Okay, maybe we can’t blame it on Richmond Hill…) and had to do a lot of digging to find some local goods. I found myself getting incredibly absorbed by researching well-loved eats in this neighbourhood, fun activities loved by the families here, and local businesses and talents to support. It was so eye-opening to experience the little things that make Victoria Village its own colorful community, and be able to bring these experiences to newcomers so that they too, can call this neighbourhood their home.
A very new experience that has come with a CEC is being a part of the weekly Hubsters activities. This past week, I had the pleasure of taking part in the Hubster’s weekly parking lot meets, one of their key ways to stay connected with each other during another locked-down summer. Growing up within the church’s fellowship, my main understanding of community came from our shared connection as Christians and our love for God. Seeing this group of youth, those who are willing to come out and stand in a strip mall’s parking lot under the scorching sun and possible thunderstorm warnings just to chat with each other, made me realize the ways The Hub has been a source of comfort for all the newcomers and youth in this neighbourhood, no different from the church I grew up in. I think of all the different ways family can exist out of our immediate homes and Christian communities, and I think of The Hub.
It has barely been 2 weeks since I started this role, but I feel as if I’ve already experienced firsthand the Victoria Village community and all the life it has to offer, which has truly been such a humbling learning experience.