For the first time ever, the Mission Services of London fall banquet sold out! Thank you to all our supporters and community partners that made this a possibility.

The evening began with an exciting and successful silent auction which raised $1,800. A special thank you goes out to Gillian from Edissi Fine arts who organized and facilitated the auction on behalf of Mission Services of London.

While the evening is considered a success, we have not yet reached our goal of $30,000 to purchase 47 new beds for our 2 shelters. To date, we have raised enough to purchase all 7 beds requested by Rotholme Women’s and Family Shelter, and 9 beds for the Men’s Mission & Rehabilitation Centre. Although we continue to receive donations daily, in order to purchase the remaining 31 needed beds, our fundraising drive continues. If you would like to make a donation to help us reach our goal, please click here and you will be re-directed to our “Donate Now” Page.

The main attraction of the evening was our guest speaker Tim Huff, who is the author of Bent Hope. Born out of Tim’s first twenty years of unique and extensive work among homeless and street-involved youth and adults in Toronto, Bent Hope is a collection of thoughtful narratives birthed beneath crumbling bridges and in the hidden alcoves of darkened alleyways after midnight. These gripping true-life stories surface quietly from unforgiving corridors of fear, hurt and uncertainty - and unexpectedly and supernaturally transform them into fascinating places of intimacy and Godly anticipation.

Tim’s gripping speech focused on our tendencies to focus on preconceived notions and prejudice and not take the time to get to know those struggling with homelessness. Tim recalled a childhood experience that changed his life forever in which he met “Nick the Bum” (a moniker Tim acknowledged as an acceptable term for the time).

Upon their first meeting, Nick and Tim interacted as you would expect a young boy and his friends would when face to face with a homeless individual- with nervous laughter and uncertainty. This was the first time that Nick spoke to Tim and all he said was “It’s OK, God knows your name”. Of course this was taken by Tim and his friends as the rantings of a crazy old man who lived under a bridge.

Tim went on to recall his next meeting with Nick as having a completely different impact on him. Tim explained that when faced with a pot of left over macaroni from a failed youthful entrepreneurial enterprise, he unexpectedly thought of Nick and decided to make the difficult trek to Nick’s bridge and offered the leftovers to him. Tim humorously illustrated the difficulty inherent in dragging a wagon with a large pot of macaroni through brush and across roughly cut pathways to get to Nick’s dwelling. Not knowing what to expect from the man who had uttered only one phrase to him in the past, Tim was surprised to once again hear “It’s OK, God knows your name”. This time Tim found Nick’s statement to be incredibly moving and meaningful, and was warmed in knowing that he was able to make a difference in the life of someone in need. It’s amazing how a situation can dictate how a phrase is decoded.

Although Nick uttered only one phrase each time they interacted, Tim implied that even the vaguest statement could have a lasting impact, as could the simplest action.

During Tim’s speech, there was not a person in the room that was not fixated on him. You could literally hear a pin drop as he spoke. Tim’s story also showed the audience that anyone cam make an impact on an individual in need, regardless of age or understanding