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Warm Room successful because of volunteers

By Morgan Davy [1]

BELLEVILLE –Outside of the government,  The Salvation Army [2]  says it is the largest provider of social services in Canada. One of the services available in Belleville is the Warm Room.

Every night at 6 p.m. the Salvation Army opens it’s doors to anyone in the community who needs to get out of the cold for a few hours, and serves them a hot and hearty meal.

Brenda Poste [3], volunteer coordinator for the Salvation Army, says everyday is different in her office, and that makes working there a difficult job.

http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/brenda-poste-2.mp3 [4]

 

Poste has been with the Salvation Army for over 20 years, and says it takes time to find the right volunteer for the job.

http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/brenda-poste-1.mp3 [5]

 

She says it’s the community programs run by the Salvation Army that keep services like the Warm Room going.

http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/brenda-poste-3.mp3 [6]

 

Poste says that on any given night up to 70 people come to the Warm Room for dinner. A small team of three to six volunteers meet in the afternoon to begin preparing the meal, and are often there until 8:30 p.m. cleaning and getting ready for the next day. This makes it very important that they enjoy the work they are doing.

http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/brenda-poste-4.mp3 [7]

 

Poste says there are many reasons why she continues to work extended hours in the Warm Room, and the most important is the people.

http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/breanda-poste-5.mp3 [8]

 

The Warm Room is scheduled to be open until March 15, but Poste says they are hoping to extend it to the end of that month.