ABOUT UNITED WE STAND

united we stand faq

What is united we stand: the eoorC campaign for veterans' house?

The Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council (EOORC) of the United Church of Canada has made a commitment to fundraise for the construction of Veterans' House: the Andy Carswell Building. Veterans’ House is Multifaith Housing Initiative’s fifth housing community and – when complete – will be a 40-unit supportive housing residence for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Veterans’ House residents will have access to mental health and addiction services, a dog park for training their service dogs, social activities and programming, and plenty of communal space to allow for collaboration and community building. Construction on Veterans’ House is scheduled to wrap up in January 2021.

United We Stand has two components:

The United We Stand Sunday Service: Please consider hosting the United We Stand Sunday Service on a Sunday of your choosing up and until the end of June 2021. To start, please download the United We Stand Sunday Service Package. Use as much or as little of this package to make this service your own!
The United We Stand fundraising effort: The fundraising campaign runs until the end of June 2021. Learn more here.

how can i give to united we stand?

The easiest way to give is online, through the United We Stand website.

If you'd prefer to give through through traditional methods, you can do so in the following ways:

By cheque: Individual cheques can be made out to Multifaith Housing Initiative. Please include “United We Stand” and your church/pastoral charge on the subject line. Please mail to Multifaith Housing Initiative, 404 McArthur Ave., Suite 206, Ottawa ON, K1K 1G8.
By phone: You can make donations by credit card over the phone by calling 613-686-1825. Let us know that you want to give to United We Stand, and tell us what church or pastoral charge you belong to so we can count your contribution toward your faith community's grand total.
In-person visit: Call 613-686-1825 to arrange for a drop-off appointment at 404 McArthur Avenue. When you stop by, please let us know your contribution should be counted toward United We Stand, and let us know what church/pastoral charge you belong to.

All 130+ pastoral charges in the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region have their own page that will tally all online donations plus offline donations (cheque/credit card over the phone/in-person donations) . If you can't find your pastoral charge when you go to make a donation, please email [email protected].

can you tell me more about THE UNITED WE STAND sUNDAY SERVICE?

The United We Stand Sunday Service is a package that has been made for United Churches to use during their Sunday services. Our package contains the Sunday service bulletin, documents, and videos. Communities of faith are encouraged to use as much or as little of this service as they like to make it their own. The service can be used any time until the end of June 2021.

I accidentally gave through canada helps instead of the united we stand page. what do i do?

Please email [email protected] for more information.

HOW WILL COMMISSIONAIRES OTTAWA DOUBLE OUR DONATIONS?

Veterans' House: the Andy Carswell Building partner Commissionaires Ottawa has generously offered to match all United We Stand donations up to $150,000 until the end of the campaign on June 30, 2021. Commissionaires Ottawa will automatically double all donations MHI receives for the Andy Carswell Building, no matter how you choose to give (online, cheque, by credit card over the phone, or in person.)

our church made donations to veterans' house by cheque/through canada helps before united we stand was launched in september 2020. can those donations be counted towards our team's page on the online platform?

If your United Church gave to Veterans' House on or after February 1, 2020, we have counted it already toward your United We Stand pastoral charge page. Unfortunately, we are not able to include donations from United Churches made prior to February 2020 in the United We Stand system. Please email [email protected] if you have any additional questions about your team's page.

I made a personal donation to veterans' house (through canada helps/via credit card/by cheque or cash) before united we stand was launched. Can MHI retroactively count that personal towards my/ my faith group's united we stand page?

Unfortunately, we are unable to retroactively assign individual/personal donations made to Veterans' House to United We Stand. We are only able to retroactively assign donations made directly from United Churches. For more information, please email [email protected]

you've made online tutorial videos in the past for online fundraising campaigns to help people navigate the website. will you be making a tutorial video for the united we stand fundraising website?

Yes. We've received some requests to make a tutorial video. We'll post a link here as soon as we can!

our united we stand pastoral charge page fundraising goal is set at $1. how come?

The United We Stand system automatically sets all pastoral charge page goals at $1. If you'd like to change your pastoral charge goal, email [email protected].

I have a question that's not listed here. what should I do?

Please email [email protected] or phone 613-686-1825. We will update this FAQ with common questions we receive. Thank you for your interest in United We Stand!

our church raised money for tulipathon 2020. Why are our donations not included on our pastoral charge's united we stand page?

Tulipathon and United We Stand support two different funds.

Tulipathon is MHI's annual walkathon fundraiser. 100% of all funds collected for Tulipathon every spring go to MHI's Rental Subsidies Fund, which is the fund we tap into for individuals and families who require rental subsidies. Veterans' House residents will draw down from the MHI Subsidies Fund after the veterans move into the Andy Carswell Building in 2021. The MHI Subsidies Fund needs to be replenished regularly. It does not support construction efforts.
United We Stand, meanwhile, supports the Veterans' House Capital Campaign - i.e. the $5-million bricks-and-mortar fundraising effort to help construct the $11.5-million Andy Carswell Building. The Veterans' House Capital Campaign is a short-term campaign that will wrap up in 2021. The Veterans' House Capital Campaign pays for construction expenses only.

Both funds are very important to ensure the success of Veterans' House. However, Tulipathon donations won't be counted towards United We Stand because Tulipathon supports the MHI Subsidies Fund and United We Stand supports the Veterans' House Capital Campaign.

Thanks to our United We Stand Sponsors, Commissionaires Ottawa, which will be doubling all donations provided to United We Stand until June 30, 2021.

LETTER FROM THE MHI BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ EOORC REPRESENTATIVE

Hello, my name is Sue Smarkala. I am the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council representative on the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) Board of Directors. It is my privilege to tell you about the major fundraising campaign on which our region, EOORC, has decided to embark – United We Stand: the EOORC Campaign for Veterans’ House.

Many of our congregations are well aware of MHI’s work to provide affordable housing. Many are also familiar with the current initiative to house veterans who are living rough on the streets of Ottawa – Veterans’ House: The Andy Carswell Building. Veterans’ House is MHI’s fifth housing community and – when complete – will be a 40-unit supportive housing residence for veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Veterans’ House residents will have access to mental health and addiction services, a dog park for training their service dogs, social activities and programming, and plenty of communal space to allow for collaboration and community building. Construction on Veterans’ House is scheduled to wrap up in January 2021.

Veterans’ House cost $11.5M to build; MHI has approximately $2M yet to raise. We are that close! At the October 16-17, 2020 EOORC Annual General Meeting, via Zoom, a motion will be presented to propose a region-wide goal for Veterans’ House fundraising. It will be a challenging goal, similar to the fundraising goal of $100K set for the Haven – the MHI build prior to Veterans’ House, which opened in 2017. Each congregation will decide if, when, and how they want to contribute to that Veterans’ House goal.

There are two ways that EOOR communities of faith can get involved with United We Stand, if they so choose:

Select a Sunday to host the United We Stand Sunday Service. Communities of faith are encouraged to set aside a Sunday anytime between now and June 2021 to host the United We Stand Sunday Service. An EOORC team and Multifaith Housing staff have developed a COVID-proof, special Sunday service package to promote Veterans’ House fundraising. Congregations are encouraged to use as many or as few of these premade components as they wish to create their own service. You may also wish to use the service as a method to raise funds for Veterans’ House.
Engage in additional fundraising. Congregation members may wish to make a personal donation to Veterans’ House. Communities of faith may also wish to run fundraisers in their own communities/raise funds in whatever manner they wish to support Veterans’ House.

There are more than 80 veterans sleeping rough in Canada’s capital on any given night. Ottawa remains a well-known crossroads point for transient populations, and Veterans’ House partner Soldiers Helping Soldiers has documented hundreds of homeless veterans passing through the city. United We Stand: the EOORC Campaign for Veterans’ House is the very first cross-regional project for EOORC. Through United We Stand, we hope United Church congregants can be the hands of Christ and make a difference in the lives of veterans in the Eastern Ontario area.

In addition, EOORC’s membership in MHI provides a new opportunity to make affordable housing a reality. Currently, 18 United Church organizations are members of MHI. All churches in the EOORC are welcome to join MHI on its mission to provide safe, affordable housing for those who need it, and help end the housing crisis. For more information on becoming a member, click here.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about United We Stand. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the MHI office.

Sincerely,

Sue Smarkala
MHI Board of Directors EOORC representative