Every Sunday, those less fortunate gather in the parking lot of St. Catherine Elementary and Junior High School to see what they can find in the We Care Marketplace.
The initiative, put on by a ministry of volunteers from many local churches, provides coffee, food and winter clothing among other things to those who need a helping hand.
Yesterday though, a little something extra was offered.
Volunteer Philip Chan had two trucks, two vans and a trailer on site piled with more than 360 sleeping bags — a project he started only three weeks ago.
“I have a heart for helping,” said Chan. “And homeless people are often looked down upon.”
Chan said the idea stemmed from a documentary he watched about God’s work in Asia.
He said it made him realize that North Americans don’t see the miraculous things God does that defy all logic, and that he felt he was challenged to step out in faith for the homeless in Edmonton.
Between 200 and 250 people come out to the marketplace every week, said co-ordinator Anne Arseneau of Sherwood Park Alliance Church.
Most of the sleeping bags were donated in the last two weeks, collected at both the Sherwood Park Alliance Church and the Assist Community Services Centre.
“I just saw God move in the last two weeks in ways I never really thought possible,” said Chan.
