“We are a very compassionate group and we want to help people in the community as much as we can.”
Daniel Anton and his fellow church members have been reaching out to less fortunate people in their Cambie neighbourhood since December of last year with their “Breakfast in the Family” program.
Once a month, every third Saturday, Anton and his Richmond Seventh-day Adventist congregation put on a healthy, slap-up breakfast, offer clothing and extend the hand of friendship to low-income and homeless people in the community.
And, even though only a handful of needy folks have taken up their generosity, Anton and his group are happy to have affected their lives in a small way.
“Whether it’s people on low incomes or the ones with no homes, we just want to help,” said Anton, an elder and Breakfast in the Family program coordinator at the church at 8711 Cambie Rd.
“A few months before the first breakfast, I became involved with the Richmond Homeless Coalition and I began to see how many people in the city need help with meals and clothes and a place to stay.
“Some of them (that come to the breakfast) are homeless and we ask them what they need. We spend about two hours with them and find out a bit about them and what they need.”
On some occasions, only two or three members of the public show up, sometimes there are ten.
“We talk to them and we connect them to places like the Salvation Army and drop-in centres, where they can have a shower and stuff like that.
“They can also come here for lunch every Saturday at 1 p.m.,” added Anton, explaining that the breakfast program was initiated by his wife, Mihaela, last fall.
Anton said more than half of the 80 members at the church — which has been around for 25 years and rents space on a Saturday from the United Church — come out to help with the breakfast, as well as donating all food and clothing supplies for the program.
The breakfast runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with a get together afterwards from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
*To celebrate the recent launch of the Richmond News’ weekly paper, the News is giving away a $25 gift card for the Bean & Beyond Cafe in Steveston for our new “Letter of the Week” feature.
Each week, our editorial team will choose the most compelling, best-written and topical letter about the issues affecting Richmond as the winner.
Send your letters, as ever, to editor@richmond-news.com. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality and good taste. Letters must include the author’s phone number for verification, not publication.
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