Skip to content

Mustard Seed intends to be a good steward

I’d like to take this opportunity to say how pleased we are to be coming to Red Deer. The Mustard Seed has been operating as a Christian humanitarian charity in Calgary and Edmonton for more than 31 years, and we look forward to serving Central Alberta as part of an overall community effort to help men and women who are experiencing poverty and homelessness.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say how pleased we are to be coming to Red Deer. The Mustard Seed has been operating as a Christian humanitarian charity in Calgary and Edmonton for more than 31 years, and we look forward to serving Central Alberta as part of an overall community effort to help men and women who are experiencing poverty and homelessness.

We are saddened that the Loaves and Fishes Benevolent Society is no longer able to continue and will cease operations at the end of June, but we are also grateful and humbled by the board’s decision to transfer its assets to The Mustard Seed. Under the Canadian Revenue Agency’s dissolution requirements, “assets should be dispersed to a charity with a similar set of objectives as the organization that is dissolving.”

We intend to be good stewards of this amazing gift and, as a result, we are going to take the time to determine what programs and services are needed in the community to make a tangible difference. We hope you will help us with this discovery process.

Over the next few months we will be:

• Working with the Loaves and Fishes staff to gain a clear understanding of their work.

• Continuing the School Lunch Program in September — either by operating it ourselves or in partnership with another agency.

• Continuing to rent the basement of the building to the Safe Harbour Society to run its People’s Place emergency shelter until another suitable location can be found.

• Conducting a needs assessment to determine where there might be gaps in programs and services in Red Deer for men and women who require assistance due to poverty and/or homelessness.

• Meeting and talking with community leaders, government officials, human service agencies, churches and other stakeholders as part of the discovery process.

• Developing a plan to be operational in Red Deer in some capacity by the fall.

The Loaves and Fishes staff, volunteers and donors have served Red Deer and area for two decades and they leave a rich legacy of devotion and service to others. The Mustard Seed hopes to offer the same care and compassion to those who need it most.

If anyone has questions or concerns, or would like to be part of our discovery process, please email info@theseed.ca and include “Red Deer Discovery” in the subject line. For more information about The Mustard Seed, visit TheSeed.ca.

Stephen Wile

Chief Executive Officer

The Mustard Seed