Dilara* came to Canada in search of a better life. She left her homeland of Turkey, after struggling with a difficult, abusive marriage. While Dilara had to leave her adult children behind, her 17-year-old daughter, Melek, joined her for the journey. Their dangerous trek to Canada took them through several countries, including Mexico and the […]
Learning to read was never this much fun at school. Every week, children drop into Courtland Shelley Community Centre as part of Reading Buddies – a program designed to help them improve their literacy. But for the kids themselves, it’s all about the fun. First up, a video, where “Chris the Word Wiz” shares a […]
When Meghety first came to Canada, she found it hard to find a place to belong. If you met Meghety today, all you would see is her wonderful smile. She would tell you how much she loves visiting her favorite place in the world, at our Sunnydale Community Centre. But it wasn’t that long ago […]
Fresh, affordable food isn’t easy to come by these days – and it’s doubly challenging when you are trying to make ends meet with very limited income. That thought was the inspiration behind the Neighbourhood Summer Market, now in its second year at Centreville-Chicopee Community Centre. The program, funded in part by the “Love My […]
Mike Kirkup likes to solve problems. Mike came to Waterloo Region as a University of Waterloo computer science student in 1996 and has spent his entire career working in the tech community, including Research in Motion, as well as his current role as Chief Technology Officer at EnPowered. And through all of these years, there […]
House of Friendship has always been part of Ferne Burkhardt’s story, all the way back to her childhood. “I remember my mother using big, glass jars to can things from our garden to take to House of Friendship,” said Ferne. “And she and other people from my church occasionally went there to help.” Having recently […]
A key priority for House of Friendship’s ShelterCare program is to provide a sense of community and belonging for participants. One way this is happening is through recreational programming. On any given day, participants can choose from art and craft activities, a games night, or even bingo. There is even a pet therapy dog who […]
Karina and her husband Jose came to Canada in search of a better life for their children, Elian (11) and Isaac (9). They just didn’t realize how expensive everything would be. While Jose had a good job at a landscaping company, everything in Canada cost more than their home country of Mexico – from housing […]
Tony Bender has a long history with house of Friendship. Over the years, Tony has done everything from creating recreational programs at our former Shelter, to running a busy Emergency Food Hamper program. And while Tony’s career at House of Friendship spanned nearly four decades, it all started very humbly – as a volunteer for […]
This September, we had a party at Sunnydale Community Centre in Waterloo, celebrating the 25 years of community and connection that you’ve made possible, through your faithful support. Linda Kruger, who worked at Sunnydale for many years and was there when it first started in 1999, shared how Sunnydale has served not only as a place […]
