The Helper Bees are an outreach program of the Church of the Apostles, dedicated to serving the Guelph community and partnering with others to support those in need.

Our Back-to-School Backpack Program, run in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington, has been running for 10 years. Each August, we provide school supplies to children who are new to Guelph, ensuring they are ready to start the school year. Backpacks are delivered before the first day of school so every child begins with confidence and the tools they need.

In 2025, we launched ReBoot, a new program that has just wrapped up its first year. Originally aiming to collect 500 pairs of shoes and boots, we were able to gather over 750 pairs of footwear. The items were cleaned, repaired, and distributed to Hope House, Chalmers Community Service Centre, and Rachel's Saturday Table. We were grateful for the support of the Guelph Tool Library, who helped with collection and repair, and to Community of Hearts, who assisted with cleaning and sorting. Footwear that could not be reused was sent to TerraCycle in Toronto for recycling. This program was made possible through funding from the City of Guelph Community Grant.

Every October, we also lead Socktober, our annual sock drive with a goal of collecting 5,000 pairs of socks. The socks are distributed to Rachel's Saturday Table, The Bench, and Chalmers Community Service Centre. We invite places of worship, schools, businesses, and community members to join us in collecting socks. Collection locations are posted throughout the month on our Instagram page: @helper_bees.

Living Better On Less (LBOL) is a free educational program developed at the Church of the Apostles in 2009.  LBOL provides information to participants about living a healthy and simpler life by consuming less, spending less, and treading softly on the earth. The program is run over 6 sessions, each module focusing on a specific issue, such as various aspects of financial planning.

The Helper Bees have created a strategic partnership with the Guelph Tool Library (GTL) to run the Living Better on Less (LBOL) Program.  Our next sessions in early 2025 are focused on seniors, and will be designed to accommodate virtual/remote participation! To find out more about the program please contact us at livingbetteronless@guelphtoollibrary.org.

Living Better on Less has also created a new program called Crucial Conversations.  We invite leaders in the community to speak on topics related to the LBOL program as stand alone sessions.  Our sessions have included community leaders speaking on Food Security and Healthy Aging.  We will be offering more sessions in 2025.

Founded in 1999 by parishioners Vicki Gojanovich, Jenny & Dan Waterston, and Dave Watson, and Carol Pederson, Breakfast Club ran for 24 years, staffed and managed by volunteers, operating in partnership with the Breakfast for Learning program through The Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington and the administration staff of GCVI.

During Covid-19 restrictions Breakfast Club continued to offer a pre-packed lunch to students. Meals were prepared each morning in the kitchen, following both food-safety and covid-safety protocols, and distributed to students through the guidance office. 

In Feb 2023, Breakfast Club was relocated to the school cafeteria to meet the needs of bus students, many of whom arrive with very little time before the day begins. Many of our volunteers continue to serve in the new location.

Our Green Team provides a drop-off location for non-recyclable items such as batteries and small electronics, and also provides folded newspaper liners for compost bins.  

Bring us your: old glasses and cases, lightbulbs, batteries, old pens and pencils, markers, full size newspapers to be folded for you into kitchen garbage can liners for your use.

In response to the pandemic, the church created a program called the "Kitchen Bees".  With support from over 200 volunteers, we were able to prepare 25,000 meals between May 2020 and June 2023.  The program partnered with The Bench, Your Downtown Guelph Friends, the J.O.E. Program, and Hope House to deliver meals to the community.  Thanks so much to everyone that supported us during this time of need.

Your Downtown Guelph Friends (YDGF) is a youth-led grassroots organization spearheaded by Kate Nixon. We were pleased to support this work by providing storage space for food and other items distributed by YDGF, and for Friday and Sunday meals to be prepared in our kitchens.