The Outreach Committee seeks opportunities for Tansley to offer help, wherever it is needed.

Current Project:

The sign-up sheet for the North Burlington Community Dinners to be held at Glad Tidings Church is on the Outreach Bulletin Board.   Please put your name and contact details on the list.  The first dinner will be held on Wednesday May 23rd.  They will be scheduled for the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month throughout the summer.  This is a great opportunity to get involved and meet the needs of our neighbours at the local Burlington level.  If you would like to know more about the dinners, please contact one of the members of the Outreach Committee.

Tansley: Reaching out to our community, region, and world.

Global Projects 

Empower Global is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower the impoverished through microcredit and community development programs in Africa and Haiti. Tansley has supported the work of Empower Global in Haiti including projects focused on primary healthcare in and around Cap Haitien.  This year, we are planning on having a team from Tansley go to Haiti to assist in community development in healthcare and construction projects.

Tansley is collecting prescription eyeglasses and hearing aids for donation to Haiti and/or other developing countries.

We are also investigating helping with a project to collect clothing for SOCKS (Support Orphaned Children Kenyan School) an orphanage in Kenya, a cause Tansley has supported in the past.

Regional Projects

Wesley Urban Ministries is a Hamilton Conference outreach mission, offering a hand up to those in need. 

We started the year off by collecting quarters on September 11 and donating them to the Wesley Centre Children’s programs.

Tansley served a chili dinner to over 200 people at Wesley Centre on Sunday November 13^th.  The food was donated by the congregation and by local businesses. 

At Christmas time, Tansley supported the No-Charge Christmas Store by delivering a truck full of gifts, knitted goods and food items.  Thanks to everyone who donated these items.

Local Projects

North Burlington Community Dinner
We are moving forward in planning for the first North Burlington Community Dinner at  Glad Tidings Church  on Wednesday May 23rd.   If you are interested in being involved and volunteering some of your time and gifts, please let one of the Outreach Committee members know and/or sign up on the sheet on the Outreach Bulletin Board.   With multiple churches and community groups being involved, we will be looking for a handful of people from TUC at each dinner so no one person will need to work at every dinner.  One of the key roles that we need to initially identify people for is termed a kitchen lead.  This role does not cook but delegates jobs to the volunteers cooking in the kitchen – sort of like the conductor of an orchestra.  This person is positive, friendly, likes to have fun, is organized, can solve problems, doesn’t have to be in control but can delegate in a positive manner.  This is the most important job which sets the tone for the volunteers.  Other duties would include communicating with the menu planner so they know what is to be prepared in advance.  If you feel you have these gifts and would be willing to consider this role, please let someone from the Outreach Committee know as soon as possible or email Janice Martin at jpwmartin@cogeco.ca.

Food for Life is a food recovery program that picks up surplus food from grocery stores, restaurants and corporate partners (mainly fruit, vegetables and baked goods) and delivers it to outreach programs in low-income locations throughout Halton. Tansley Church has one of these outreach programs each Friday morning. People needing food can drop into Tansley Church before 11:20 am with their grocery bags. A Food for Life van drops off food and volunteers sort and organize the food into the client's bags.  

Halton Fresh Food Box is a non-profit, volunteer run healthy eating program supported by Halton Region Ontario Trillium Foundation and Ontario Ministry of Health.  Tansley United Church also acts as a depot for the Halton Fresh Food Box.  Fresh food can be ordered and picked up between 4pm and 630pm on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month.

Partnership West Food Bank located at 1A - 1254 Plains Road East, Burlington operates a food bank.  Their hours are Monday To Thursday 9am to 11:45am and on Saturday 9am to 11:45am, closed Friday and Sunday.

Tansley also operates a small pantry to enable us to respond to emergency food needs.

Additionally within Tansley, other groups plan and organize other community Outreach projects.

The UCW supports the following groups throughout the year:  Halton Women’s Place, Wesley Urban Ministries, SOCKS, Five Oaks, Carpenter Hospice and the United Church Mission & Service Fund.

 Tansley Park Community Homes (TPCH) consists of fourteen non-profit townhouses located next to the church at 4090 Millcroft Park Drive. The townhouses are predominately rent-geared-to-income units, and play a part in the community outreach program of Tansley and the Hamilton Conference of the United Church of Canada.  TPCH operates in partnership with Community Housing and Services of the Region of Halton who provide the rent subsidies for our rent-geared-to-income structure. While not a requirement, the Board of Directors and officers of TPCH are members of the Tansley congregation.

We are always looking for ways that Tansley can support those in our community who need a helping hand - where best we can put our resources in Burlington. If you have any suggestions, please speak to one of the members of the committee.

United Church of Canada

In addition, we will support appeals by the United Church of Canada. During Summer 2011, we publicized the appeal for relief for The Horn of Africa. http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/releases/110720

Want to Help?

Pray for these projects, for the people who serve on them, and for those they serve.

Volunteer some time. We will need help to cook and serve chili and to deliver items to the Wesley Centre. There will be other opportunities too.

Donate items. From time to time, we will be asking for donations of food items for dinners, toys, clothing and other items as need arises.

Make financial donations.

Join the Outreach Committee. We could use your ideas and input.  If you would like to work on Outreach projects, please contact us.

The Outreach Committee

Janice Martin, Sheila Young, Janice Hatt, Nancy Holman