First United is very privileged to have some very significant partners who are not actively members of our community but who believe in and support us. We could not be who we are or do what we do without these partners!

Individuals
There are many people who have an interest in being involved at First United and who find that the easiest way to join the community  is start by helping to prepare meals, serve food, hand out toiletries, provide support in the Thrift Store or Storage facility, etc. We do not regard these participants as “volunteers’ or ‘partners’, but see them as community members.

Congregations
We are supported by 23 sandwich-making groups and 53 “congregational partners’, who are our link to United Church congregations.

Many of our meals are provided by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and others partners who represent specific faith communities, including:

  • Open Hearts, Helping Hands
  • Filipino Seventh Day Adventists
  • Jewish Muslim Group
  • Canadian Memorial
  • Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen
  • Canadian Memorial United Church
  • St David’s United Church
  • Food For First
  • Sufi Meditation Group
  • Hare Krishna
  • VANDU
  • Vancouver College
  • Collingwood School
  • Corpus Christi School
  • Downtown Neighbourhood Council
  • Various Groups of friends

Organisations
We rely heavily on advice, and/or funding and/or collective effort  provided by:

  • BC Housing
  • VanCity Credit Union
  • City of Vancouver and the City Council
  • Building Community Society
  • The Vancouver Police department
  • Vancouver Fire and Ambulance Services
  • Vancouver Coastal Health
  • Coast Mental Health
  • DTES organizations such as Carnegie Community Centre, Portland Hotel Society, Lookout Society, Atira Women’s resources Society

We deeply appreciate our relationships with these groups!