Tell us your name and the name of the project or initiative you are involved with
Shazia Wall with the North BurLINKton Dinner Night Out.
What have you most loved and appreciated about the community project/initiative that you are involved in?
What I like most about Dinner Night Out is the sense of belonging when walking through the doors. Because of BurLINKton Dinner Night Out, I have the opportunity to meet neighbours and share our life experiences. What I appreciate most is the relationships I have made with my co-volunteers. The ability of North BurLINKton as a grassroots group to include volunteers no matter how small (kids can help set tables) is something I really like. Dinner Night Out is a place where the whole family can serve the community together.
“I would like to see more interaction between volunteers and community members outside of the dinner,”
What is your connection to the project/initiative, and why is it so important to you?
My connection to North BurLINKton Dinner Night Out is as the Co-Coordinator of Volunteers. My role is to make sure that volunteers get connected with the dinner. I work alongside Randi in the role. We are the familiar faces every week for our volunteer groups and individuals to check in with.
“We collaborate with the Wellington Square Friday Community. They sometimes have a food donation we can use, and we cook extra for folks in need who cannot get to the dinner they have identified,”
What is happening through the project/initiative that you would like to see more of?
Community connections are always happening, and I would like to see more interaction between volunteers and community members outside of the dinner. In the past, a photography group was formed, and there were games and a book club. I would like to see more things like that happen.
The meal itself is a great collaboration of volunteers who come from all walks of Burlington. It is a wonderful place to contribute and feel welcome. Glad Tidings Church supports the use of free space and administrative support, Food for Life provides some food, and Grace United Church and the Burlington Food Bank provide a donation. We collaborate with the Wellington Square Friday Community. They sometimes have a food donation we can use, and we cook extra for folks in need who cannot get to the dinner they have identified. Throughout the year other people provide donations and door prizes for special meals. In February, a local business owner made an amazing Valentine's Day balloon sculpture for us to encourage us and our dinner guests. There is a lovely collaborative spirit in the community, and the world needs more of that.
What would you like to see happen next for the project/initiative?
“Currently, there is a rise in food insecurity so if more families were out to enjoy dinner with us, we would be able to make an even bigger impact for families and individuals experiencing food insecurity,”
Pre-Covid numbers would be great. We used to have about 150 folks out for each meal and 300 for our special events. Numbers are climbing back up to about 80 and it is great to see some young families back over the past couple of months, but we would like to see even more people back out for a great meal and time together.
What would you want or need from the community to make your next steps successful?
Connections with high schools would be helpful, getting the word out about volunteer opportunities with guidance counsellors is hard. I would need to see more sharing of information within the community so that more people would feel welcome to participate as volunteers.
If all those good things happened, what could be made possible in our community that was not possible before?
Currently, there is a rise in food insecurity so if more families were out to enjoy dinner with us, we would be able to make an even bigger impact for families and individuals experiencing food insecurity. We would be able to alleviate the home budget for at least one meal biweekly.
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