Open Arms Resource Centre

05/22/2026

From now until June 14, we’re proud to be partnering with The Orange Door Project at Home Depot New Minas to help support people experiencing homelessness right here in our community.

🧡 100% of funds raised stay here in the Valley through Open Arms.

Plus, this Saturday, May 23 is DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT DAY 🙌

Every donation made on Saturday will be MATCHED by Home Depot, doubling the impact of your generosity. 💰💰

We’ll be on-site from 10AM–2PM at the main entrance offering cold drinks for free-will donations, sharing information about Open Arms, and raising awareness about the growing need for housing and support services in our community.

Every dollar helps provide things like:
🏠 Safe shelter
🍲 Meals
🤝 Outreach & support
💛 Hope and stability for local youth and individuals experiencing homelessness

Even if you don’t have cash on hand, you can still donate at checkout using debit or credit while shopping in-store.

Come say hello, grab a drink, and help us make a real difference together. 🧡

05/20/2026

❄️ COOLING CENTRE OPEN TODAY! ❄️

🥵 Need a place to cool down today?

Open Arms will be operating cooling centres at the following locations:

📍 Open Arms Resource Centre
98 Aberdeen Street, Kentville
🕐 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM

📍 Orchard Valley United Church
130 Cornwallis Avenue, New Minas
🕐 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Both locations are wheelchair accessible.

These spaces are open to anyone looking to escape the heat for a while. Water and snacks will be available.

Questions? Please contact our outreach line at 📞 902-691-2801

04/29/2026

We are currently seeking individuals interested in contributing to Open Arms at a governance level through Board and Committee involvement.

Open Arms is entering a period of focused growth and operational evolution. As such, we are looking for individuals who bring strong judgment, relevant professional experience, and a commitment to thoughtful, accountable governance.

Board and Committee members support the organization through oversight, strategy, and stewardship, ensuring we are delivering meaningful impact in a sustainable and responsible way.

We are particularly interested in individuals with experience in:
• Finance / accounting
• Human resources / people leadership
• Legal / risk
• Governance / policy
• Fundraising and community partnerships

Prior Board experience is an asset, but not required. A willingness to engage, prepare, and contribute constructively is essential.

If this aligns with your experience and interest, we invite you to complete a short expression of interest:
https://forms.gle/bX7C5cy8EmdJC8LPA

We appreciate your interest and will follow up with selected candidates as part of a structured onboarding and selection process.

04/08/2026

We’re hiring!

Open Arms Resource Society is looking for a People & Culture Manager to join our team.

This is a key leadership role within the organization, responsible for shaping an engaged, inclusive, and high-performing workplace while ensuring strong, compliant HR operations.

If you’re passionate about people, culture, and building environments where teams can thrive, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 Learn more and apply here: https://jobs.careerbeacon.com/details/people-culture-manager-kentville-ns/2211965

Please feel free to share with your networks

Could this be you? Click to find out more about this opportunity!

04/07/2026

After careful consideration, Open Arms has made the difficult decision to permanently close the OATS Thrift Store.

This was not an easy choice. We are incredibly grateful to the volunteers, donors, and community members who supported OATS over the years and helped create a space of connection and care.

As our organization has grown, we have heard a strong and consistent need for expanded daytime supports for vulnerable members of our community. Moving forward, we will be focusing our resources on developing a dedicated day centre to meet the changing needs of the community.

We are excited to share more in the coming months and look forward to continuing to serve our community in meaningful ways.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

03/10/2026

At Open Arms we are looking forward to seeing the results of this important research and data collection.

Want to complete the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey, but misplaced your invitation postcard?

A new one is on its way! This reminder postcard is hitting the mail today with instructions and a unique user code for taking the survey online.

If you receive the reminder card in the mail but have already completed the survey, please don't complete it again.

Already, thousands of Nova Scotians have responded to the survey to help us tell the whole story of wellbeing in communities across the province.

The more of us who participate, the more representative the data will be of everyone who lives in the province. It’s not just data – it’s our experiences and stories, and they are a force for change in advocacy, decision making, and community-led solutions that lead to a better quality of life in Nova Scotia.

Help us tell the whole story!

If you’re curious to learn more visit our website at the link in the bio! 🔗

03/08/2026

Today is International Women’s Day.
A day to celebrate the strength, leadership, and resilience of women everywhere. It is also a day to acknowledge the barriers many women continue to face.

Women experience homelessness differently than men. Many remain hidden. Women are more likely to be couch surfing, living in unsafe housing, or staying in dangerous situations because the alternative feels even more uncertain.

For many women, homelessness is deeply connected to gender-based violence, poverty, and a lack of safe and affordable housing.

Here in the Annapolis Valley at Open Arms Resource Centre we see these realities every day. Women in our community are navigating impossible choices between safety, stability, and survival.

At Open Arms Resource Centre, we believe every woman deserves dignity, safety, and access to the support she needs to build a stable future.

This International Women’s Day, we stand with the women in our community who are facing housing insecurity and homelessness. Ending homelessness means listening to women’s experiences, strengthening community supports, and working together toward solutions.

Because everyone deserves a place to belong.

03/05/2026

Meet Melissa 💛

Melissa is one of our incredible Team Lead at OASIS, and the heart she brings to her work is felt by everyone who walks through our doors.

For Melissa, the best part of working at Open Arms is supporting clients who are just down on their luck - and walking alongside them as they put in the work to rebuild their lives. She says there’s nothing more meaningful than receiving a phone call months or even years later from someone she once supported, sharing that they’re still doing well. Those moments remind her why this work matters.

Melissa provides steady care, consistency, and compassion every single day at OASIS. We are so lucky to have her leadership guiding our shelter community. Melissa is also the current top contributor to the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIPHIS), making sure that records on the unhoused population in Kentville is accurately represented.

A small but important need at OASIS right now: a dedicated monitor for our security cameras. Our current laptop setup isn’t ideal, and having a proper monitor would help us better support safety in the space. If you’re able to help please reach out!

Thank you, Melissa, for all that you do.

03/03/2026

Open Arms Resource Centre is so grateful for community partners like Canaan Baptist Church whose continued generosity helps us care for our clients in meaningful and practical ways.

Thanks to their support we’ve received a large supply of Vitamin D to share with those we serve. Especially during the darker months, Vitamin D can play an important role in supporting overall health and helping to reduce the onset of seasonal depression.

We are truly thankful for your kindness and commitment to our community.

03/02/2026

💙❄️We’re still taking it all in 💙❄️

On Saturday night the warmth in the room and out on the walk was undeniable. Coldest Night of the Year was more than a fundraiser this year - it was a powerful reminder that when the Annapolis Valley comes together, we show up for our neighbours in a big way.

We are so incredibly grateful to the partners who helped make the night possible:

Kentville Fire Department
TACOcentric
Lisa’s Independent Grocer
RBC
Axewoman Soccer
Superstore New Minas
89.3 Rewind
Martell Mechanical
Noggin’s
Hennigar’s
PepsiCo New Minas
Blue Sea Philanthropy
Domino’s Pizza
Valley Credit Union

From warm meals and snacks, to volunteers at crosswalks, to music, sound, donations, and behind-the-scenes logistics - every single contribution mattered.

And to the walkers, donors, volunteers, sponsors, and quiet champions who worked for weeks (and months) to bring this together - thank you. Because of you, Open Arms can continue supporting individuals experiencing homelessness in the Annapolis Valley.

Saturday night proved something simple and powerful: this community cares deeply, and when we come together, real impact happens.

From everyone at Open Arms - THANK YOU! 💙💙💙

11/28/2025

When you buy a pair of TACOcentric socks, they donate three to those in need!

You helped us do this!! We surprised our friends at Open Arms during the NSCC'S clothing giveaway event today with 300 pairs of new socks! Big feet and little feet will be dry + warm.

This only happened because of your support with our TACO SOCK campaign - Buy 1 We Give 3! There are 20 pairs left at the shop, or order online, and let's keep this going!!

NSCC Student Life

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NSCC + OPEN ARMS EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/13zz2PZAoX/

More about THE SOCKS: HTTPS://tacocentric.ca/socks