Love My Neighbour

A member of an Alliance church has developed a project to enable Canadians to express their appreciation for their COVID-19 vaccine by paying it forward to people in vulnerable populations around the world.

Sara Hildebrand, a member and worship leader at Toronto Alliance Church, is the project coordinator for the Love My Neighbour project  “a national movement for global vaccine equity inspired by Millennium Kids and Canadian faith communities.”  The project was inspired by Matthew 15, where Jesus feeds 4000 people with only a few loaves of bread and some fish. Hildebrand believes that if we all play a small role, we can make a big difference!

Many Canadians have had the privilege of receiving their first vaccine—and some have even received their second. Over 2 billion vaccines have been administered globally, yet still less than 1% of low-income countries have received their first dose.

Through the Love My Neighbour campaign, Canadians have an incredible opportunity to express their gratitude for the vaccines that we will receive by gifting vaccines to vulnerable populations around the world through UNICEF. Through a $25 donation, you can gift a 2-dose vaccine to a global neighbour. This includes: the vaccine, transport, cold-chain protection, health worker training, and safe disposal of needles and waste.

Love My Neighbour wants to see every Canadian gift a $25 donation to vaccinate another individual. With approximately 38 million Canadians, we would be able to work together to help end the pandemic.

There are ways for cities, businesses, churches, families, teams, friend groups, individuals, and more to get involved with the Love My Neighbour Campaign. People are getting creative, and we encourage you to do the same!

At Toronto Alliance Church the quiz team raised donations for vaccines by running a fundraiser where they quoted all of the verses they’ve memorized in Matthew this year. Eight students and their coaches quoted over 1400 verses on a Sunday afternoon. They raised over $2500, providing over 100 vaccines to individuals in low-income countries.

Mayors are choosing to make their cities a Love My Neighbour city. They are encouraging their residents to get involved. Businesses are making donations on behalf of each of their employees. Churches are creating donation pages and encouraging and inspiring their members to increase their giving. There are classrooms that are learning about social justice who are raising donations and learning about their impact. An engaged couple has asked their guests to donate vaccines instead of give gifts! People across Canada are coming together to ensure that our global neighbours have the opportunity to be vaccinated!

June 11-13 the leaders of the G7 countries will be meeting for the UK G7 Summit. Their conversations will be focused on vaccines, and how we can work together to end the pandemic. Hildebrand is hopeful that Canada will make a commitment to return 10% of our vaccine doses to the global distributor of vaccines, COVAX, beginning now, so they can give them to low-income countries.

Ways to Get Involved:

• Make a donation! $25 can change someone’s life.
• Send a letter to your MP.
• Share about the project with your church, employer, mayor, friends, family, team, or anyone you can think of!