For many who have lost a loved one, the holidays can be particularly difficult and lonely. To help them know they’re not alone, a dedicated group of women from The Salvation Army in Garnish, N.L., deliver handmade bereavement packages to those who are grieving.

The initiative has been running for more than a decade and emerged after the ministry leaders at the time encouraged members of the corps to take on additional outreach roles to help spread compassion in the community.

What started as a kind gesture has snowballed into an initiative that is sharing love and comfort, and bringing new people into the Army.

To Show We Care

It began small, with a handful of women delivering a loaf of bread or fruit basket if someone was sick or in the hospital. Then, whenever they attended a funeral or heard that someone had lost a loved one, they would reach out.

“A lot of times at the funeral, everybody’s there to support the families, but what’s the follow-up rate?” says Laurie Senior, the administrative assistant at the corps who leads the program. “We felt we needed to provide some follow-up and check in on people.”

There are between 15 and 20 women involved in the group at any given time, and they each take turns making baked goods from scratch, then get together to assemble them into care packages and deliver them to recipients.

Garnish is a small community, so the initiative runs mostly by word of mouth. “Everybody knows everything in a small town,” says Senior. “Within our group of women, we hear when a family has lost someone.”

Though they deliver packages throughout the year, it takes on a special meaning at Christmastime, which can be particularly isolating for those who are grieving. “Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, it’s all about the Christmas cakes and cookies. People love to receive them, packaged up with a sympathy card. It lets them know we’re thinking of them,” says Senior.

Representing the Church

According to Senior, The Salvation Army in Garnish is unique. There aren’t regular Sunday services, but instead, they’ve started a coffee house that runs every other Wednesday, and it’s become a form of outreach that has trickled into the community.

“There used to be about 12 people coming out to the coffee house and it’s now grown to 30 people who come on average, no affiliation necessary,” says Senior.

One man who is part of the Anglican church had recently lost a loved one, and he received a care package from the women at the Army. “When we followed up with him, we told him about our coffee house and he started coming to it,” says Senior. “He says that he always went places with his wife, and since he lost her, he didn’t have any friends to go to coffee with. But he’s told us that this group got him through that first winter without his wife.”

The group has been able to reach people they wouldn’t normally connect with, and the bereavement packages help bridge that gap. “It doesn’t matter who you are, we are thinking of you,” says Senior.

The church also operates a pea soup lunch at a summer festival in town, and this year, one man came in and said he knew someone who had been helped by a person from The Salvation Army, who went to the hospital and prayed with them after a surgery. Because of that kind act, he donated $100 to the meal.

“It’s a seed that we’re planting and it’s growing in the community,” says Senior. “We’re a church. We’re representing the church. We want people to realize that if they ever need anything, if they ever feel down, they can come to us. It’s important that they know, even if they don’t attend or aren’t affiliated with The Salvation Army, that there’s someone in their community who cares about them.”