Olympics Outreach 2010
The world is coming to Canada in 2010 to participate in and witness the Olympic Games hosted by Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. This event creates an unprecedented opportunity for the Church to serve and share with our neighbours and visitors from around the globe.
How will your church be involved? Whether you live in St. John’s, Newfoundland, or Port Alberni, B.C., the 2010 Games are yours. The Olympic Torch will be visiting 200 communities across Canada. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are scheduled in venues at Whistler, North Vancouver, Vancouver and Richmond.
The Salvation Army is a member of a broad network of Christian denominations and parachurch agencies called More Than Gold, which is planning for outreach and service before, during and after the Games. Take up the torch and get involved. Your church doesn’t have to be in B.C. to benefit from this incredible opportunity. Canada will be celebrating. The Church needs to celebrate, too!
The scope of your Torch Relay and Olympics Outreach can be as big as your congregation’s or staff’s collective imaginations: sports camps and clinics, creative and performing arts concerts, family-friendly community festivals, warming and refreshment stations featuring The Salvation Army’s mobile canteens, big-screen viewings of major Games events, prayer gatherings, community clean-ups, expanded service to the homeless and a strengthened fight against human sex trafficking. If you have knitters, they can contribute hand-knit scarves which will be distributed to homeless people in Vancouver during the Games. Youth and adults can be part of mission teams moving across Canada starting October 2009 to support corps/centres doing Torch Relay Outreach, or they can join teams coming from across Canada to serve on-the-ground in Vancouver during the 2010 Games. The opportunities are endless!
God has given us a unique opportunity to engage our culture with Olympic Outreach 2010. Are you game?
Torch Relay Mission Teams
The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay provides The Salvation Army with an unprecedented opportunity to serve and witness within communities across Canada. The Torch Relay will run during the 100 days immediately preceding the Olympics. The Olympics Torch Relay will cover 45,000 kilometers, visiting every province and territory in Canada, and in excess of 200 distinct communities. The Relay will draw countless people from these communities, and will be viewed with interest by many others in Canada and around the world on television or the internet.
In response to this opportunity The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory is encouraging each Canadian Division to form a More Than Gold Torch Relay Mission Team to serve at the Torch Relay venues within their provinces and territories. These Mission Teams will assist the local Salvation Army and broader church community in hosting Torch Relay Outreach programs where witness can be extended through service evangelism.
Click here to download the Torch Relay Team application form.
Additional Downloads
More Than Gold Application Processes ** Read this first **
More Than Gold Mission Teams Application
More Than Gold Volunteer Application ** Updated **
Small Grants for Torch Relay and Olympics Outreach
Torch Relay Outreach Opportunities
More Than Gold Scarf Patterns
Welcome Bags
The Hospitality Team is seeking donations to prepare Welcome Bags for those attending the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics. Our goal is to prepare 25,000 Welcome bags and an additional 3,000 Care bags to be given to the homeless on the streets of Vancouver. It is a big project and you can help by donating the following items over the course of this spring and summer. Come September we’ll assemble the bags and store them for distribution next February and March. Click here for more information.
Contact Information
Sharon Tidd
Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic Outreach Coordinator
The Salvation Army British Columbia Division
3833 Henning Drive
Burnaby, BC V5C 6N5
Fax: (604) 299-7463
Office Phone: (604) 299-3908, Ext. 236
Cell Phone: (778) 837-1931
E-mail: sharon_tidd@can.salvationarmy.org
