We need your help

Like many charitable organizations, Mission to Seafarers Southern Ontario operates with a cadre of volunteers who provide a variety of help, from greeting and hosting at the mission stations and assisting seafarers with transportation for shopping or medical appointments, to simply being there to listen or share a cup of coffee. Seafaring is one of the loneliest careers on the planet, and having a face to relate to and a new voice to hear can be very helpful.

But as with most charitable organizations, COVID-19 decimated the ranks of our volunteers; since the pandemic, only five have returned across our four stations. Having to isolate for nearly two years took its toll, and yet our work ramped up five-fold as seafarers were confined to their ships and all the land-based activities, such as shopping (for food, medical supplies, exercise equipment, Christmas gifts, etc.) had to be – and were – covered by staff and the remaining volunteers.

Remember COVID-19 shopping? Order online, then face long lineups to pick up purchases, especially in the cold weather during those two awful winters. We received between 22 and 25 emails with lists from each ship in port – and there could be up to seven ships in a port. It was a logistical nightmare, but it had to be attended to because these were important shopping lists to fulfil.

At the end of this season – December 2025 – we will lose two of our original eight-year veteran volunteers in Oshawa, Jill and Captain David, both of whom joined before the station was opened and who stayed throughout the pandemic, working with patience, dedication and determination. We are honoured and blessed to have had the privilege of working with them. But with their departure, we are without any volunteers for our station in Oshawa, the Terry Finlay Seafarers Centre.

We need your help. The Terry Finlay Seafarers Centre is a tiny station with a big heart, just like its namesake. It has offered shelter and comfort to hundreds of seafarers since it opened in 2017. The seafarers will deeply miss Jill, the grandmother of the station, and Captain David, himself a former “Salty” seafarer, so we are asking you to think about whether you are willing and able to fill the shoes of two stalwarts who let very little get in their way when it came to helping the seafarers that come to Oshawa.

Age is not a barrier; even teenagers are welcome as station hosts and ship visitors. Climbing a gangway is the physical test, and mission training is offered. There is no set schedule for cargo ship arrivals – unlike cruise ships, which tend to stick to a very tight schedule – so while we have a few days’ notice, that can change from day to day. We can’t promise a set time every week when a ship will be in port. But what we can promise is the satisfaction of knowing that for a few hours a week you are helping to take care of the people who take care of us, who bring us all the things we need, from the coffee in our cups to the food on our table and the tables themselves, the gas in our cars and the clothes we wear. And to know how grateful the seafarers are that you care, that by your presence you remind them that they are not invisible. They do the most difficult work in the world, so a few hours (two to three) of your time each week to help us help them is priceless.

Are you ready for a new challenge? MTSSO needs your help. Can we count on you? Contact [email protected] or visit www.mtsso.org/volunteering and let us know if you’re ready to get involved!