Serve Location
Stratford, Ontario
- Date: 07/05/25 - 07/12/25
- Church Partner: Stratford CRC
- Availability: OPEN
- Trip Type: High School
- Rate: $450 USD before April 1st
- *$500 USD after April 1st
- Capacity: 50
In Church Partnership With
Stratford CRC
SERVE Projects
SERVE worksites will include, but are not limited to:
- House of Blessing: HOB provides food and clothing and other resources to those in need. They regularly require help sorting food, sorting clothing, and general maintenance of their building. There is also potential for some light construction.
- Habitat for Humanity: building affordable homes.
- Community Living: This organization owns and operates several group homes within the community. These are often homes for people with special needs who are unable to live on their own. They have a regular need for general maintenance and also meaningful interaction with their tenants.
- The Local: Food bank which also cooks for the patrons and teaches them useful life skills.
- Stratford Women’s Shelter: General maintenance
- Ontario Christian Gleaners: This organization brings in waste produce, chops it, dehydrates it, and turns it into a soup mix which is distributed globally. They ALWAYS need produce choppers.
- Larshe Group Homes: This organization is likely to be starting a demo/construction project during SERVE and will have a pile of work for us.
- St. Pauls Church: This church makes a meal for the homeless several times a week. They always appreciate assistance in cooking, serving, and cleaning. They also greatly emphasize the importance of sitting down with those who are there and building community with them.
- Community Carnival: On Thursday night, the Stratford CRC will throw a carnival for the community. There are a lot of families in the surrounding area and also low income housing. At the beginning of the week, the SERVE team will distribute literature. On Thursday the community as well as the SCRC congregation will come out to this BBQ and family fun night.
Site Description
Stratford is a small city with a thriving artistic community which is driven by the world famous Stratford Festival Theatre. SERVE participants will work in a variety of worksites building community with the people in the city of Stratford, as well as supporting some of the various ministries that serve those in need within Stratford and the surrounding area.
Stratford CRC will provide sleeping spaces in our air conditioned classrooms. External shower spaces with adequate privacy will be provided. Youth will need to bring air mattresses and anything else they need to have comfortable sleeping arrangements.
There are a few different possibilities for the day away. We want to select the day away based on who is coming and we have a few options depending on where the youth are coming from. For example, Canada’s Wonderland and Niagara Falls are amazing sites to see, but not if you’re from Toronto or Hamilton. We also have some local nature sites with great swimming access that we can go to as well. We have many ideas and options, but want to know who is coming.
Get Directions
Registration fees do NOT include transportation to and from the sites. Each church group must provide vehicle(s) and adult driver(s) for the entire mission experience regardless of whether you fly or drive to the site. The vehicles you bring will be used to transport small groups to the work site each day, so 12-passenger vans or mini-vans are preferred. Cars do not facilitate the transportation of an entire small group in one vehicle, so please do not bring them. If you wish to bring a bus, please check with the Host Team to see if this is acceptable before you make arrangements. If your group is unable to provide van transportation, please have a youth leader call the ThereforeGo Ministries office to discuss options and additional charges.
Region of Waterloo International Airport (YFK). Please DO NOT book airfare until you have received email confirmation from ThereforeGo Ministries that you have been placed at this site.
Facebook: Stratford SERVE
Instagram: @goserve.stratford
