General e

Dear volunteers,

Serve the City Geneva welcomes the newbies to the group!!

We hope to see all those (again) who recently joined us and have never participated in one of our following projects.

No secrets in this garden

There is an upcoming project in Chêne-Bougeries. Carrefour Rue, one of the canton’s leading social associations, runs a trailer park for those trying to get back on their feet. It needs a big gardening team to cut, mow, and clean up an overgrown ‘jungle’. It’s scheduled for the 10th of July and lunch will be provided. Your fingers are green? Then sign up!

In the mood for a good snack

The sandwich team can always use some help. Especially now that summer and travelling season are near, the programme must be continued: so many people are counting on it. For more details, go to the website. Easy at home preparation.

The grapes of bags

Over a year and still going strong! STCG continues to help packing over 5000 grocery bags a week on Thursday and Friday mornings. You can sign up for one day, or two, or on a regular basis. It is a nice team; we do useful work and have fun! Coffee breaks with beverages and snacks provided. Bring friends and family!

The sorting hat

The 200 tons of goods collected on the Samedi du Partage weekend still need sorting. No magic, elbow grease! Several new days have been added to the Partage sorting programme. These are the goods to be distributed over the next six months; there is a big need through July. Please sign up and bring colleagues!

Animal farm

The Biopark Zoo in Genthod project is coming soon, we wait only for the date. Come sniffing the trail from time to time on the website. Call in your neighbours!

Eat pray love

The Salvation Army, one of our long-standing partners, solicits volunteers to help with the service of a midday or evening meal, near Cornavin. The place is particularly destined for fragile adults. Knowledge of French is needed.

Hours: Monday to Sunday. Lunch service 11h – 13h30. Dinner service 17h – 19h30. Tasks: receiving the beneficiaries, replenishing the buffet, etc. For more info, please sign up, write your availabilities (day and time) in the comments. The project leader will contact you.

Very very important

Please do remember: if you sign up, DO show up. Or let the project leader know, by signing out of your event, or calling him/her. This way we can not only find a replacement, but keep our engagements towards our partners.

Hope to see you soon and wishing you a lovely summer!

Your STCG team

Dear volunteers,

Samedi (and vendredi) du Partage:

Last weekend turned out to be quite a success. Many thanks to all those who responded to our pleas.

We ended up with 90 STCG volunteers who collected a great amount of goods for the people who encounter (economical and other…) difficulties.

We hope to get the final collection amount soon and will post it on our website.

STC was established to help the marginalised of the community and together, we certainly make a difference.

Thanks again to all!

Do not forget our other amazing projects!

The sandwich program, which provides meals to over 220 homeless people per weekday, has marvellous helpers. They are making 70 sandwiches at home and deliver them to the Jardin de Montbrillant soup kitchen! Currently, we have 32 deliveries planned for June (equals 2310 sandwiches). Still, more and continuous help is needed. The homeless community was one of the most seriously hit this past year and we continue to try our best to support them.

The tons of products collected at Samedi du Partage need sorting, so they can be distributed over the next 6 months. STCG has currently booked 4 mornings (Thursdays and Fridays), another opportunity to lend a hand to those in need (meaning: sign up!).

Other projects are soon to come, i.e. the zoos and environmental projects.

If you are interested in managing one of these projects, let us know. Our project leaders have done such a fantastic job for meals, soup kitchens, sandwiches, zoos, Partage, clothing collection and sorting, food bags, social media, translation services, and other small projects. MERCI!

Hoping to hear from you soon, your STCG team

Greetings once again to you STC servants of the Realm.

SANDWICHS

Yes, the homeless are still hungry. Hopefully the Soup kitchens will be able to reopen soon, but in the meantime if you are able to make 70 sandwiches for them any of the week days this month, you will be well appreciated ! See the details under ONGOING PROJECTS on our website. We can use about a dozen more sandwich makers.

FOOD COLLECTION

On 4 & 5 June, Partage will re-instate their Semi-annual Samdi du Partage (with a Friday too)
STC will be filling 6 stores with volunteers to collect food for the needy of Geneva. Mostly the homeless.
You can signup now for any of the 4 shifts (Fri.3-6, Sat. 8-11:30, 11:30-15, & 15-18)

Migros Meyrin
Denner Meyrin
Migros Bladonet
Coop Grand Saconnex
Lidl Petit-Lancy
Aldi Chen-Bourg

We will need 60 volunteers on the weekend event and families are welcome. Even your weekly walking club can join in.

FOOD SORTING

After the weekend of collecting the non-perishable need to be sorted.. (which take 3-4 weeks)
STC has been given Friday mornings for this activity. Maximum 12 people from 8am to 12pm: Fridays June 11,18 & 25.
This again will take place at PalExpo the back of Hall 7. Do signup on the website with your date of preference.

FOOD PACKING

The Partage organization has been commissioned by the city of Geneva to prepare 5,000 food bags for those economically hurt by the pandemic. STC is helping out on Thursday and Friday morning at PalExpo , Hall 7. Signup to join us at 9 to help.

We will continue the program at least thru July+?

OTHER EVENTS

Other items of interest are also on offer, so be sure to check them out under current activities.

Best Regards. The Serve the City Geneva Team.

Preparing meals and sandwiches for Montbrillant

STC and Mater Foundation have been making take-away meals for over a year. We have managed to prepare over 30,000 meals for the homeless, with the help of volunteer chefs, kitchen staff and drivers. The project ends now. The out of work chefs are heading back to their restaurant kitchens, the big kitchens we have been using are no longer available. The Montbrillant soup kitchen by the train station tries to feed over 200 people every week day and would be very happy about help! The homeless are the ones most affected at present.

At the beginning of the pandemic we were submitting at times over 600 sandwiches per week. When we started the meal program, we no longer continued the Sandwich Program but we would like to start it again! Covid restrictions for May only allow take-away meals.

Here is our proposal: If you would like to make 70 sandwiches once a week in May to be delivered to the soup kitchen by 10:30 in the morning on the day of your choosing, we – and the beneficiaries – would be very happy. This would require 4 volunteers each day. Please sign up on the STC website indicating the day you prefer to deliver your contribution, knowing that you can choose to prepare these sandwiches once in a while or every week for a longer period, that’s up to you and your availability. STC contributes to the expenses with 70 CHF for each delivery per month.

Food packages at Palexpo

The Partage Food Packing program continues for AT LEAST the next few months at the PALEXPO Hall 7. STC has been helping out creating over 5,000 food packages per week for those impacted economically by the Covid restrictions. STC has committed to helping Thursday and Friday mornings 9a.m. to noon. When you signup on our website, do list the days you wish to volunteer in the “Comments” section.

Samedi du Partage

Coming up 4 & 5 June – save some time to help collect food for the homeless and less fortunate through the “Samedi du Partage” (the traditional Saturday of sharing happens normally twice a year). Serve the City has committed to staff 6 stores this year with 3 shifts on the Saturday… and the afternoon shift of 3p.m. – 6p.m. on Friday. The stores will be listed later this week. Last year over 70 of the Geneva Stores participated in the food collection and we hope for a big turnout! Then later we will be asking for help to sort the collected goods.

Signups for Samedi (and Vendredi) du Partage start Thursday 6 May.

Crafting for a cause – the renovation projects

We have two demands for renovation projects.

Carrefour Rue headquarters: Some plaster repair, painting, perhaps new flooring, and even gardening, for the Carrefour Rue headquarters near the main train station.

La Maison de Tara (Hospice general): This is a new partner and project. The Hospice general is the social service of the Canton of Geneva. The “Maison de Tara” in Chêne-Bougeries is a house for palliative care for people who cannot live independently any more (https://www.hospicegeneral.ch/fr/fondation-la-maison-de-tara). They had an unexpected visitor. Wait for it… a fox got into their hen house and killed their 4 chickens! They asked if we could do a security renovation to protect their chickens! STC figures somewhere in our 2,500 volunteers we might find someone with such knowledge or interest. Please sign up, we will send you more information.

A project for (future) bookworms

The Maison de Tunisie en Suisse has collected over 300,000 books with the cooperation of Swiss schools to support Tunisian schools with books of all languages. They are looking for help to sort and pack about ½ of the remaining books. The location is Palexpo porte (door) 25 from now up to Saturday 8 May any time from 8h to 18h. Informations: www.facebook.com/groups/ATTSmail/permalink/4192428917487578/

Sign up on the STC website, where you can ask any questions.

Do stay tuned to our website and newsletter as we will hopefully be looking at some outdoor projects at our local game reserves and two local zoos.

Lastly, let us know if you would like to work with STC by being a Project Leader and looking after our volunteers for the May sandwich event or the June Samedi du Partage event.

Many thanks for your continued support!!

The STC Geneva team

Dear volunteers, project managers, partners, friends,

Many thanks to all those who have been helping these last months. There has been a great response and those affected have been grateful.

Our Needs:

Hot meals prepared at the kitchen in “Genève-Plage”

Cooking:

Starting 29 March until the end of April we have many slots open to help the cooks prepare the meals. When you sign up, you will get a list of all the days we can use help. If you have some special free days, please mention them and if someone is needed, we can book you straight in, even on short notice.

Transport:

Drivers, Drivers, Drivers! We make 200+ meals at “Genève-Plage” and need some help getting them to the beneficiaries on every week-day morning (Monday to Friday). You can sign up for one day a week on a regular basis, or once in a while.

If you have a car, the project leader will tell you all you need to know!

Preparing sandwiches:

The Sandwich programme is starting again on Friday mornings. Our project is to prepare a good snack for those who need them: Over 200 people are coming to the distribution! The plan is to find volunteers willing to make 70 sandwiches for Friday morning at home, and to deliver them before 10:30 a.m. The food package will be supplemented with drinks, fruit, yogurt, dessert, etc. and set up for take-away meals. We do hope you can again pitch in for this worthwhile event!

Handymen:

We are searching for renovation workers. One of our outstanding service providers (Carrefour Rue) has offices near the main train station which are sadly in need of freshening up. They really need some wall repairs, fresh paint, a new kitchen floor and perhaps a few other projects. If we can find a project leader, we can then recruit helpers to get the job done. We have financing for the project; just need some various management and skill sets. If you are interested or know someone who is, please sign up on the website.

Food and clothes collection:

Our food and clothes drive is still on through March. No need for sign-up (but have a look on the website for details), just drop off donations at 10, rue de Baulacre, 1202 Genève, near the parks of Montbrillant and Beaulieu. Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Please note that the food should be non-perishable and the clothes for adults and children in a good condition, no holes or stains, all zippers and buttons present!

Many thanks again to all. The Serve the City Geneva team