Editor’s note: Launched almost 30 years ago as a project at Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School, the Out of the Cold program is a remarkable story of Christian outreach that last winter provided food and shelter to more than 12,000 homeless men and women. That success is celebrated in a just-released book by Catholic Register associate editor Michael Swan. In this excerpt from Out of the Cold: A history of caring, Swan recounts how the program found a home in one downtown Toronto church.

Out of the Cold: A history of caring
By Michael Swan

From a modest storefront that opened 28 years ago to serve hot meals to a handful of homeless people, Out of the Cold has developed into an acclaimed winter program that last year provided food and overnight shelter to more than 12,000 homeless people.

Catholic Register associate editor Michael Swan tells the remarkable story of how Out of the Cold evolved from modest beginnings as a weekend project at a Toronto Catholic high school into an extraordinary example of Christian love and caring. It’s a story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Canadian orders: 126 pages / Paperback / 5.5"x8.5" / $14.99 + $3.00 shipping / ISBN 978-0-9948716-0-2 / © 2015 Catholic Register Books

US orders: 126 pages / Paperback / 5.5"x8.5" / $14.99 + $5.00 shipping / ISBN 978-0-9948716-0-2 / © 2015 Catholic Register Books

International orders: 126 pages / Paperback / 5.5"x8.5" / $14.99 + $10.00 shipping / ISBN 978-0-9948716-0-2 / © 2015 Catholic Register Books