Homeless Partners Christmas Wish List (homelesspartners.com)

VICTORIA, British Columbia - Dec. 8, 2015 - PRLog -- Homelesspartners Bringing Together Different Faiths to Help the Homeless

The Homelesspartners Christmas Wish List is all about connection, providing a vehicle for people in the community to know the stories of the homeless and to send personalized gifts and messages directly to them through their local shelters. Stories can be read at homelesspartners.com (http://www.homelesspartners.com/)

(See a live link near the bottom of this press release.)

This year, homelesspartners.com is sponsoring a High Tea at Rock Bay Landing.

The purposes of the High Tea are:
1. to provide donors with the opportunity to actually meet with the people they have pledged gifts for on the homelesspartners.com website,

2. to send a message to the homeless that lives and stories matter, that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and that many in the community genuinely care, and

3. to encourage different faiths to focus on the shared value of caring for those in trouble as well as establish personal relationships between people from different faith perspectives.

The High Tea will include:

    • Music performed by Vinod and Robina Bhardwaj, from the Hindu community and choral selections from the Knights of Columbus.

    • The Master of Ceremonies, Joel Fagan, retired Pediatrician, is a member of the Rotary Club of Saanich, Kolot Mayim Reform Temple, and The Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island.

    • Speakers from four faiths:

     - Bishop Gary Gordon, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Victoria

     - Rabbi Harry Brechner, Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue

     - Karima Ramji, from the Ismaili Muslim community

     - Vinod and Robina Bhardwaj, musicians from the Hindu community

   • A time of gift sharing from donors to shelter guests

All faiths teach compassion for others who are struggling. Everyone has times in their lives when their situation is difficult – everybody has a story. The homeless are not all the same - each person has a unique story. Homelesspartners wants to foster not only empathy for those in trouble, but they are making an effort to use the compassion generated by this work to encourage people of different faiths to establish personal relationships, breaking down barriers, while they engage in these acts of service, shoulder-to-shoulder.

Throughout the planning of the whole project - from the interviews that are conducted at the shelters, to the different participants of the High Tea and the general networking accomplished throughout, relationships between faiths are encouraged.

As we work together with shared values, we not only generate help for the suffering, but that work fosters an environment that is conducive to peace and empathy for our fellow humans.  Promoting this  message of compassion and connection makes our community a better place to live.

“The activity of homelesspartners is to enable people in the community to connect personally with shelter guests and to involve different faith communities with a shared value of compassion for those in any trouble,” says Homeless Partners co-founder, Daniel Keeran.

Homelesspartners has worked with Cool Aid for the last 4 years. Cool Aid creates opportunities for people who are homeless or living in poverty. They provide housing, health care, support and emergency shelters and help over 9,000 people in the Capital Region every year, at 14 locations in Langford, Victoria and Saanich.

Homeless Partners is a non-profit, self-funded program run entirely by volunteer efforts. The program is coordinated by a small number of individuals, who assist volunteers to go into shelters and personally interview the homeless. The Homeless Partners Christmas Wish List was started by Daniel and Jennie Keeran in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2005.

A shelter guest said it best: “What encourages me most is knowing that someone who doesn’t even know me, would even care.”

This is the 4th year that Victoria has participated in this project. Last year there were over 100 stories from Victoria shelters with 300 gifts requested. Everyone received at least one gift. Since 2005 the Homeless Partners Christmas Wish List has brought thousands of gifts to the less fortunate at Christmas.

www.Homelesspartners.com encourages everyone in the community to participate by going to the website, reading the stories, buying a gift(s) and delivering it to the shelter with a caring note.

Contact:

Daniel or Jennie Keeran

jenniekchristian@gmail.com

250.590.2882 land line

250.857.1362 cell and text