Gwen Todd

On behalf of Hamilton Out of the Cold,

It is with great sorrow and heavy hearts that we share this message with our Hamilton Out of The Cold Family.

Our dear friend Gwen Todd suddenly and unexpectedly passed away on January 22, 2024.

Gwen has been an integral part of the HOOTC family for many years.

Gwen started with her volunteer work at Erskine Church and then was recruited and enthusiastically joined the HOOTC Board in September of 2018.

Because of her past professional experience, she was appointed as the Chair of our Development Committee and led all of our fundraising events including The Ride for Refuge, The Canadian Open Golf Tournament, Winterfest, Supercrawl, our Online Auction, and Book Sale just to name a few. The success of these events and her tireless diligence has helped us to continue to fund our meal services.

Gwen approached all tasks with passion and enthusiasm. She always had the best interests of HOOTC in her heart. When Gwen was not working on HOOTC projects, she was volunteering with Animal Adoptions of Flamborough. We will miss her stories about the kittens and cats she cared for. We will miss her presence on our Board, the great impact she had on HOOTC programs but mostly we will miss her smile. Gwen was a dear friend to many of her fellow volunteers and staff.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband John, Gwen’s family and friends.

 

Dear Gwen:
“In the hearts of those who loved you, you will always be there.”

Times & Locations 2023-2024

Meals to Go

Sit Down Dinners

Café

(warm beverage and a snack)

Day Location Address Sit Down Times

Hamilton lit up to honour
“Hamilton Out of the Cold’s”
25 years of service to the city.
We were thrilled that our founder
was able to be present to see the sign lit up
in the colours of Hamilton Out of The Cold. 

$5000.00 was raised in one day! We exceeded our goal with the help of our two Matching Donors! Thank you to “Minuteman Press” for agreeing to help us by being a Matching Donor for $250.00 and also thanks to “Ctrl+F” for being a Matching Donor for $350.00. With the help of these two community minded businesses, we were able to exceed our goal! Thank you to everyone who contributed! Your donations will help us feed almost 1500 hungry Hamiltonians!

Kathy & Janice enjoy a Starbucks on "Giving Tuesday".
Kathy, Norma and Gwen Helping at Fortinos

The Hamilton Hurricanes volunteer
at the first “Annual Food Drive”
with amazing support from Fortinos in Waterdown
and their generous customers.

Hamilton Hurricanes First Annual Food Drive
to Support Hamilton Out of the Cold
We thank the incredible players
and their awesome Head Coach Barry Emo for making this possible.
Your team has fed many hungry Hamiltonians! 

In our 25th year, we celebrate the tireless efforts of our incredible volunteers, the privilege of serving our deserving guests in the Hamilton area and our supportive donors who help us to continue to provide this much needed nourishment. 

This season marks a milestone year for Hamilton Out of the Cold (charity# 864263488-RR0001). We are proud to celebrate 25 years of service in the Hamilton community. HOOTC was established in December 1997 at James St. Baptist Church by two retired teachers, Gloria Colizza and Sister Carole Anne Guay. From its humble beginning of offering one meal to one single guest on its first night, HOOTC has grown to a program serving hot meals 5 nights a week from 11 locations in the Hamilton area. During the 2021-2022 season, HOOTC served 22,678 dinners from November – March. Covid affected our sit down meals so we adapted to our current takeout service model.  Our mission is to provide hot, nutritious meals for those in need in the Hamilton community. Served with dignity and compassion, HOOTC is a volunteer based, low barrier program sustained by donations of both money and food from foundations, local groups, businesses and individuals. 

Always Healthy
Fresh Donated Breads
Getting Ready for Packing
Careful Packing
Ready for Pickup
Enjoy!
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