Port Windsor Makes Major Gift Donation to Street Help Homeless Centre of Windsor

Media Release

January 2, 2024

WINDSOR, ON

Street Help Windsor will not have to worry how much longer their old freezer will hold out, or whether their refrigerator is good enough to keep their perishables safe and fresh.

A major gift by Port Windsor has put their worries aside and ensured they have the equipment they need to properly and reliably store the foods they need to feed the homeless from their centre each day.

We called the Street Help Homeless Centre just before the holidays and asked: “What do you need and what most keeps you up at night?” Their answer was honest and immediate, “our refrigeration and freezers are failing… and so expensive to replace”. We knew right then that new equipment was the best gift to sustain and support their program.
Steve Salmons, President and CEO, Windsor Port Authority

Williams Food Equipment was a supportive vendor and provided Port Windsor with an attractive price that made it possible to replace both their commercial grade stainless steel refrigerator and freezers at once. Now they have the equipment that will enable Street Help to provide the important Stone Soup Kitchen services, that has become essential to the homeless in our community.

Street Help will take delivery of a new 41cf. Reach-In double door refrigerator and Reach-In Freezer, also 41cf. Total cost of donation: $10,000.00

Background: Windsor Street Help

Street Help Homeless Centre of Windsor is a homeless drop-in centre operated by and for the homeless. We are a leading provider of services for the homeless.

We are here to not only provide the homeless with services to better their own lives, but to give them an opportunity to help others equally in need. Who better to provide others with quality services than the ones who have been there and experienced the same circumstances. The homeless are the experts on what they need. The majority of our volunteers are those we serve – the homeless themselves. The homeless are involved in planning and the operation of our centre.

Through cooking, cleaning and offering support to their fellow homeless, our staff develops genuine skills and experience to apply to their resumes. Our programs prove self-help can lead to self-sufficiency.

FUN FACT: We have NO paid Administrators or Fundraisers. Our staff is entirely volunteers. Since we have no paid Administrators or Fundraisers every penny from donations goes directly to supporting our programs, keeping our centre operating, our shelves stocked and supporting our homeless.

Background: Windsor Port Authority

Ontario’s third largest port, each year the Port Authority receives more than 600 ships, delivering more than 4 million tonnes of aggregate, salt, steel and grain to Windsor-Essex, ports across the Great Lakes, and into Europe. It also hosts Ontario’s largest ship fueling depot.

Each day, 1000 people come to work in Port Windsor, and another 1,400 jobs depend upon activities of this port.  Wages total more than $50 million annually, in addition to local purchases of goods and services in excess of $50 million.

The Windsor Port Authority is a federal Corporation under the Marine Act (1999) as one of just 17 national ports established to promote the growth, competitiveness and prosperity of Canada’s economy.

Christine Wilson-Furlonger

Administrator
Street Help Homeless Centre of Windsor
windsorstreethelp@gmail.com