Another year of sharing and caring was celebrated Wednesday and Thursday nights as Riverside Mission hosted their third annual Harvest Banquets at Church of Our Lady on South Hill in Moose Jaw.

The dinners have become an important fundraiser for the downtown mission which operates with an annual budget of around $350,000.

Riverside Mission is now operated in partnership with Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Regina. Joseph Miller, the executive director of Souls Harbour said the partnership has been good.

“We’ve been working together in very practical ways. We share the big blessings of food we get, so in that sense, it’s worked very well. The partnership works well for both parties and I

Souls Harbour Executive Director, Joseph Millerthink we bring some efficiencies and experience, and hopefully, that benefits the community of Moose Jaw.

Volunteers are a big part of what drives the mission. In 2018 over 100 people provided more than 3,300 hours of volunteer labour to the various programs at the Moose Jaw mission.

“It’s the backbone of who we are” Miller stated. “They really are what we are about”.

Miller added the goal now is to grow.

“We have a plan for the future. We want to build a community center, and Riverside Mission would be a part of that”

Riverside Mission provides a variety of services to the community, most notably free meals for the hungry. The lunch and supper program operates daily at the mission, located at 40 Manitoba St. East, and in 2018, served more than 13,000 meals.

In addition to food, the mission operates an emergency men's shelter which houses ten beds. Last year over 800 nights lodging were provided there.

Riverside is also home to an addictions recovery support program and manages eleven affordable housing units.