Grocery shopping is, for most of us, a routine errand we take for granted. Some even resent it as an inconvenience and a chore.
But for many who are homeless or living in emergency shelters and supportive housing, , buying one’s own food is an unimaginable luxury – an expression of independence and economic stability that may not have been experienced in years or ever before.
This is why the Victoria Cool Aid Society’s grocery gift card program has been life-changing for so many people in our community.
Since the program’s launch in winter 2019, it has placed gift cards from grocery retailers and other merchants in the hands of thousands of vulnerable people who access the many invaluable services Cool Aid provides including housing and emergency shelter, health and dental care, meal programs, and employment and wellness programs.
Since its founding in 1968 as a hotline and a hostel for transient youth, Cool Aid has grown to become an organization that houses and supports more at-risk and formerly homeless individuals than any other organization in Greater Victoria. Its network of services now encompasses 16 housing sites, three shelters, a health clinic, a dental clinic, and a community centre.
Lori Angelini, Cool Aid’s Director of Philanthropy and Community Engagement, joined the organization in 2018. At that time, some Cool Aid clients had become beneficiaries of a non-profit program called Homeless Partners.
“Their volunteers came to our Rock Bay Landing shelter and our Sandy Merriman House women’s shelter,” explains Angelini. “They interviewed some of the clients and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. These would be posted to their website as profiles and wish lists.”
Yet despite the program’s success, it was unexpectedly discontinued in winter 2019. Angelini immediately began contemplating how something similar might takes its place.
“I was tinkering with a new database, and it happened to have an online shopping cart. I thought, ‘What if we could adapt it in a way that donors could choose gift cards?’ It’s not as customized as the Homeless Partners program, but clients who received them could then buy whatever they wanted for Christmas.”
When the public learned about the program, the response was overwhelming.
Cool Aid received enough donations to acquire more gift cards than they needed. “We were able to give the rest to other shelter programs in the city,” says Angelini. “It was, on all fronts, a huge success.”
And then, just a couple of months later, the COVD-19 pandemic struck, and the need for gift cards acquired a whole new dimension.
“That was when we realized we needed to do more for our clients,” says Angelini, “because as a result of COVID, we could no longer receive donations of food from restaurants and individuals. Our clients relied on that. So we relaunched the shopping cart, but this time it was just for groceries. And again, people responded enthusiastically.”
In 2021 alone, Cool Aid had received donations before the end of August equivalent to more than 3,500 gift cards, which are distributed among roughly 220 regular recipients.
But, Angelini points out, donations aren’t consistent. In particular, summer sees a dramatic slowdown that results in many recipients having to go without.
“Our clients look forward to their weekly grocery card – it’s like an income they didn’t have before. And we also give them out through our community health centre, where many clients have extremely low incomes and sometimes a lot of health issues.”
Angelini and her Cool Aid colleagues encourage everyone who has the means to make a gift card donation, which can be done via Cool Aid’s website in just a couple of minutes.
“It’s become such a vital program for our clients because it’s not just feeding them,” says Angelini. “They’re learning how to cook, building those life skills that people so desperately need. Rather than them receiving a premade meal, they can go out into the community and choose what they want. That’s something quite special and empowering that most of us never think about.”
To make a donation to Cool Aid’s grocery gift card program, visit coolaid.org/giftcards.To learn more about Cool Aid and the many ways it helps homeless and at-risk individuals, visit coolaid.org.
