Every year, my foodie group and I, volunteer at Moisson Montreal by giving some of our time and…read morehelping out with general tasks around the warehouse. This year, 27 of us, spent our afternoon sorting through goods and boxing up cans to be distributed to over 230 local food banks. Moisson Montreal is Canada's biggest food bank and basically collect goods from supermarkets and through donations to redistribute to the local community. They are one of the top 10 charities in Canada for being able to multiply their donations, meaning for every dollar received they give back 15$ in donations; that's huge! They have a very welcoming and friendly staff, and they always make my volunteering experience fun and rewarding. Can't wait to do it again!

One star less than five because of the lady assistant-manager. No friendly smile. No name tag…read more Looks at you like you are dirt. Gets extremely upset and yells at you if you place what she calls "electronics" after clothes and pots for plants, even if you are buying cables and flashlights. Orders you, instead of nicely telling you, how long you have to exchange or return things. All the other people in the staff commununicate with a smile except this woman. She is the exact opposite of courtesy. Renaissance is a beautiful place to shop but that lady should not deal with customers.

*This review pertains to the donation/drop-off services here. I have not gone into the actual…read morethrift store, so I can't comment on the store itself* I am visiting my parents in Montreal, primarily to clean out their enormous storage room which, to my dismay, was like a hoarder's dream. Picture 65 years of ... stuff, from floor to ceiling in piles. A nightmare job. Anyhow, after two weeks, I finally got the place squared away. Only issue was, I now had TONS of bags of...stuff to get rid off. I'm talking blankets and pillows and bed linens (some new), a new carpet cleaner/steamer, framed artwork, old but working coffeemakers, tons of clothes, tons of totes and duffle bags, glass vases and ceramic jars.... I could go on and on. I initially planned to donate all this stuff to the Salvation Army thrift store on Sherbrooke St. W. in NDG. I drove around the block there but parking was impossible due to the high snow banks. (Even if the street was cleared, I'd still have had to pay for parking at the meter, FYI). I didn't want to park too far away as I had a gazillion bags to shlep to the store, and many were heavy. After 10 minutes or so, I pulled over and called the store, asking if they had a loading zone or garage or back door for me to temporary park, to unload all the stuff. The Salvation Army gal said no, and furthermore, the guy who assists at the front door, to help bring in donations, wasn't available yet anyhow. Bummer! I asked if there were a thrift store nearby that took donations that had a dedicated parking lot or unloading zone and the gal referred me to Renaissance on St. Jacques, just an 8 minute drive away. I'll cut to the chase here: this Renaissance place is the absolute BEST place to donate your stuff, hands down. You drive into this enormous parking lot right off of St. Jacques. Even with our recent snowfalls, the parking lot was totally cleared off. There's a big sign directing cars to the side of the building to drop of donations. Once you turn the corner there, there is a drive-up area, covered by a canopy, and guys with dollies waiting there to assist you! You don't even have to get out of your car! If you have a lot of stuff, or heavy stuff, or it's bad weather out, or if you are elderly or mobility-challenged, you don't even have to get out of your car. It is SUCH an easy, efficient system here! I can't tell you how impressed my mother and I were with this set-up. And the guys who assisted us were so friendly and nice, too. Bonus! Forget about shlepping your stuff to a thrift store in the snow, paying for parking, and dealing with the stress of all the logistics involved in getting rid of your stuff. This place makes it oh so easy.

Located in Point Saint Charles Share the Warmth has been offering valuable service to communities…read morethroughout the south west of Montreal since 1989. Having moved to The Point in 2008 I've had the opportunity, both as a community member and as a board member, to see firsthand the positive impact that Share the Warmth's programs have on the community. Share the Warmth offers a variety of programs, with a particular emphasis on youth, that include music, tutoring, food security and job training. As a small community organization located in the heart of the community that they serve Share the Warmth is ideally situated to respond to the evolving needs of the community. For example during the covid-19 pandemic Share the Warmth adapted it's food bank ensuring a continuity of service while prioritizing a safe environment for members, employees and volunteers while responding to a 50% increase in families requesting emergency food assistance. Share the Warmth is a top notch organization delivering high quality program to Montreal children and families in need of support in the areas of education, food security and job training. I encourage you to learn more about this great organization by visiting their website and seeing how you can get involved.

Having met members of the board and other volunteers and seen the incredible scale of the work that…read moregoes on here I am a whole-hearted fan. Serving free lunch programs to kids at 20 different schools, offering free tutoring and music programs and all kinds of other resources to help kids stay in school in the face of an incredibly high drop out rate makes these folks local heroes and deserving of all our love and support. Get involved if you can! They also run a food bank and thrift shop that are always happy to receive donations and to make new friends and allies!

I love the staff and mission of the Old Brewery Mission. They address chronic homelessness both for…read moremen and women, provide a 24/7 emergency response hotline and (during non-pandemic times) serve community building suppers and do loads more, but most admirably in my view is that their focus is on ending chronic homelessness. They help people rebuild their lives, and they emphasize access to permanent homes rather than temporary shelters. Respect for the people they serve is paramount. They also put a major emphasis on research and they are in the best possible position to bring insights from the realities of homelessness into meaningful policy and effective social change. Right now they are gathering donations of protective equipment for their frontlines workers and financial donations to support people working in the face of this overwhelming crisis. These are real actual hidden heroes in our town and deserving of all our love and support.

I can say with certitude that the workers at the Old Mission Brewery have one of the most important…read moremission in the world. They have an incredibly big heart and make a real difference in human beings' lives who have been dealt a very hard hand. To give around 110$ of non perishable good was one of the best experience of my life. Thank you for your amazing work Old Mission Brewery!

Vegan Co-op with great food and awesome people! We were lucky to have a friend in Montreal show us…read morethis place, because we would have never discovered it on our own. It made my traveling vegetarian heart very warm and happy :)

One of the original coffeehouses making a home for folk music in Canada, the Yellow Door is a tiny…read moreepicenter of goodness in the McGill ghetto. In addition to the music venue in the basement, the Yellow Door is home to multi-faith advisory and free zen meditation, and the Generations Project which supports seniors in Montreal's downtown through volunteerism and social activities. Huge heart.

Magasin spécialisé dans les produits importés d'Italie, Friends4Cause a surtout une vocation de…read moresoutien à des associations d'enfants et de jeunes autistes et propose un service de confection de paniers cadeaux. Des belles verrines d'antipasti, des pâtes, des biscuits et du chocolat, il a vraiment de quoi gâter nos amis. Le personnel est vraiment super accueillant et même les jours de pluie il doit communiquer sa bonne humeur avec son grand sourire chaleureux!

This is a safe space! Head and Hands is the best! Head and Hands has been an invaluable resource to…read moreour community for decades. They offer social work services, healthcare, mental health and other medical services, legal services, and much much more. All of their services are free of charge and are aimed towards people who are undocumented, racialised, marginalised and disenfranchised as well as persons with limited finances and persons who are unhoused. This is a safe space for Black people, Indigenous people, and people from all ethnocultural backgrounds and identities in our community. This is a safe space for (Trans) women. This is a safe space for refugees, This is a safe space for people who are undocumented or people with precarious immigration status. You will not be asked to show proof of citizenship or residency. This is a safe space for people living with disabilities. Head and Hands is fully accessible. This is a safe space for Trans people; including Trans youth, and people from the 2SLGBTQI community as well as men who have sex with men. This is a safe space for sex workers. You can get free condoms, birth control, plan B (an effective emergency contraceptive also known as the morning after pill) as well as pregnancy tests and STI testing. This is a safe space for people who use (intravenous) drugs. You can get a drug testing kit, they've also got naloxone kits, and a safe injection site. You may also procure drug rehabilitation services here. Head and Hands is amazing because of the people who work here. These are the true heroes of our society.

I love it here, I'm so happy to see a quiet little spot of green space so meaningfully lit up each…read moreweekend with music and ping pong tables and free classes all the time bringing together kids and adults. The rotation of food trucks and vendors lends a sweet element of the unexpected and the beers and cocktails are affordable. The wooden lounge bed things are a beautiful design made for relaxing and bringing conversations together, and little things like the sign urging people to respect the trees warm my heart.