Day THREE: Project SHARE = Support. Housing. Awareness. Resources. Emergency.

Project SHARE started back in 1989 and was formerly known as C.O.E.S. (Community Outreach Emergency Services). The offices were located within a small building on Victoria Avenue.

In 1992, the agency became incorporated and changed its name to Project SHARE, with the acronym meaning Support, Housing, Awareness, Resources and Emergency. The name change was accompanied with a move of their offices to 1st Avenue. By 2002, the organization found a need for a bigger building due to the increase in demand of its services. Project SHARE then relocated to Stanley Avenue, where they currently are situated.

Project SHARE serves individuals living in poverty in the Niagara Falls community by:

• Addressing the short-term need for food and creating long-term solutions for food security
• Mobilizing resources in the community
• Adapting services to respond to changes around us

Project SHARE has numerous programs to help the community:

An average of 100 families go to Project SHARE every day for emergency food. 30% of those are children. The most requested items in their food room is fresh fruits and vegetables.

Individuals were helped with emergency food 39,671 times during the last fiscal year! Over 800,000 lbs of food is distributed each year. The food bank usage has doubled since the 2008 recession.

The Christmas Program provides a holiday meal and gifts for children ages 16 and under. An average of 4500 Niagara Falls residents are helped each year through this program. The items that are most needed are peanut butter, canned fruit, canned fish and gifts for teenagers.

Project SHARE is more than just a food bank and runs several support programs including Homelessness Prevention Program, Clothing Referrals, Funding for Emergency Utility Assistance, Funding for Emergency Prescriptions, Recreation Funding Programs and more! There are also educational programs including 2 community garden sites, cooking and canning workshops, as well as healthy recipes to help increase food security.

This year, we partnered with Project SHARE to sponsor a family of five. It was so exciting to buy for the children, and give a little something special for the parents who might not be able to treat themselves very often! We had Santa Don help deliver the presents, with his decked out work truck - if you look close you can see the Christmas lights lining his truck.

Project SHARE helps residents of Niagara Falls who are living below the poverty line as defined by Statistics Canada. Each client must show proof of residency, income and dependants every time they come to Project SHARE. For more information on programs and services, please visit www.projectshare.ca or call 905-357-5121.