Red Deer’s Mustard Seed has recently increased their shelter hours to 24/7 thanks to a new grant from the provincial government.   

“On November 1st, we received funding to be open for our guests 24/7. Our shelter guests now have access to our building 24 hours a day, seven days a week.We did increase our drop-in hours for community guests as well from 9-4 Monday to Friday. We've seen an increase in people accessing that service as well. It's just come at the perfect time when all of a sudden it's so cold and this way we have the opportunity to be open for people to have a warm, safe place to be,” said Laura Giesbrecht, Director of Operations.  

Along with increased hours, the Mustard Seed has also seen increased usage for the School Lunch program.  

“We're always looking for volunteers for the school lunch program. With the increase in lunches, we need increased help and we also need people who would be willing to deliver the lunches to schools. That's a big need,” explained Giesbrecht.  

With the increased need and hours of operation the Seed is offering more volunteer opportunities to the public. 

“Then we've actually opened up different volunteer opportunities on the weekend, which would be, I would think, attractive to a lot of people to come in on a Saturday and a Sunday. [That would be] coffee service and different meal prep opportunities,” added Giesbrecht.  

If you are interested and volunteering with the Mustard Seed Giesbrecht says it’s best to head to their website for more information.