Staff and Leadership
Meet our Staff!
*see bottom of the page for postings*
Alice Plug-Buist
Executive Director
Alice joined Helping Hands in 2018 as a volunteer, and took the lead as Executive Director in 2019. She appreciates Helping Hands as a place where people can safely come together in community, to forge friendships, support each other, and engage in hope-filled conversation together. Alice loves to engage people in discovery of how each person is a valuable image-bearer of God and how they can live into that reality.
Carl Henderson
Friendship Manager
Carl joined the HHSM team on New Year’s Day, 2025. He brings with him over 20 years of experience working in the non-profit world. Carl’s personal experience as a person with a disability and his pride in his Indigenous and African-American heritage have not only shaped his work but also fuels his dedication for advocating for marginalized groups of people. With a passion and proven track record of developing leaders and cultivating compelling stories that invite change, Carl is excited to partner with Helping Hands Street Mission and their vision of a Hamilton transformed through friendship-based support for every person dealing with social, financial and spiritual poverty.
Kristina Ivanovic
Hospitality Coordinator
Kristina was first introduced to Helping Hands Street Mission through her field placement while completing her Social Service Worker Diploma at Mohawk College. She loved the experience so much she continued to volunteer after her placement was over. She strongly believes in and respects the mission’s values and vision. Through her position here she has been given the opportunity to continue building positive relationships with our friends as well as helping those in need with the services that are provided at Helping Hands.
Lauren Galenkamp
Executive Projects Assistant
Lauren began working at Helping Hands in May of 2022 as an Administrative Assistant. As her role developed, she was able to work on several projects aimed to aid Helping Hands in communication through different creative storytelling methods. This has included the development of the new website, fine-tuning impact tracking systems, leading the development of video storytelling materials, developing vision for our annual Gala, and creating and leading We’re All Neighbours Here – an immersive art experience. Lauren loves being able to continue to learn how to be a good neighbour and a good friend in the neighbourhood where she both lives and works.
Lisette Sayes
Community Engagement Manager and Project Hope Lead
Lisette was born and raised in Hamilton to parents of Guatemalan descent. She studied at Redeemer University with a major in International Development and a minor in Political Science, hoping to one day use her experience to be a missionary. As part of her studies, Lisette was required to complete volunteer hours and chose to do so at Helping Hands Street Mission. After having a great experience, she went on to become a summer intern at Helping Hands in the summer of 2016. Since then, Lisette has worked in both non-profit organizations and in political offices, always focusing on social justice work. Lisette loves the friendship-based support of Helping Hands, and ultimately wanted to expand the capacity of Helping Hands so that God’s love would reach more people in the Barton Street community. She’s excited to see what God will be doing in her role as the Community Engagement Manager and Project Hope Lead.
Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors provides governance to Helping Hands Street Mission as a registered charitable organization. They set strategic goals and hold the organization accountable to fulfilling its mission and vision. Each member comes with their own unique perspective, and together they seek the flourishing of people in the Barton Village community and the expansion of God’s kingdom here.
Phil Beck, Jessica Koning, Lynn Bruulsema, Gordon Hornsveld, Enzo Guerra, and Sarah Cimpello.
Make a difference in our community. Become a volunteer!
Canada Summer Job Positions
Note: Start date for all positions is flexible, will be for 8 consecutive weeks, and pay is $20.80 per hour. Deadline to Apply is April 25th, 2025
Administrative Assistant
The Administrative Assistant will work with all staff members to assist with administrative tasks and particularly data entry. The Administrative Assistant will provide essential support as the organization grows and sustains relationships within its enlarging networks, including donors, service providers, volunteers and community members, in its mission to provide friendship based support to people dealing with a wide variety of poverty issues. The Administrative Assistant will develop skills in adaptability, collaboration, communication, creativity & innovation, digital skills, numeracy, problem solving as well as analysis and storytelling skills while researching, planning, gathering data and executing capital campaign engagements. We commit to prioritizing the hiring for this position from youth that are underrepresented in the labour market.
Disability Management Coordinator
The Disability Management Coordinator will work with the Friendship Manager and community members at Helping Hands Street Mission to identify barriers to services and support at Helping Hands and plan and implement barrier reduction, prioritizing the engagement and welcome of people with disabilities in a way that aligns with Helping Hands Street Mission’s mission and vision. The Disability Management Coordinator will particularly engage with community members with disabilities, will explore their connection desires & needs, and will engage them in identification of barriers, evaluation of options, as well as planning and implementation where feasible and recommendations where funding avenues will need to be explored. The goal of the project will increase Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Helping Hands Street Mission particularly as it relates to the welcome of people with disabilities, and will strive to incorporate the principle of “nothing for us without us”. The Disability Management Coordinator will build skills of adaptability, collaboration, communication, creativity & innovation, digital skills, numeracy, problem solving as well as evaluation and leadership skills through client-engaged identification of barriers, evaluation of options, as well as planning, implementation and recommendation. We commit to hiring a youth with disabilities for this position.
Social Services Program Planner (End of Life Support Program)
The Social Services Program Planner (End of Life Support Program) will assist in furthering the development of our End of Life Support program at Helping Hands Street Mission, in a way that aligns with Helping Hands Street Mission’s mission and vision. Folks who are marginalized face barriers to accessing end of life resources, and also don’t have family support network that will allow them to ensure that people know what their end of life wishes are. We have had multiple student placements research this area of support, but have not yet had the capacity to move this program forward. We currently have a community member, himself a marginalized senior concerned about his own end of life needs, who is eager to help work on a way to collect and store end of life wishes for fellow community members, and this community member could use the support of a dedicated temporary staff member to move that part of our End of Life Support Program forward.
Social Media Coordinator
The Social Media Coordinator will assist in the ongoing development of Helping Hands Street Mission’s social media strategy, manage and schedule posts for Instagram and Facebook accounts, brainstorm with Community Engagement Manager about content ideas, create, edit and publish consistent content alongside the Community Engagement Manager to better communicate who Helping Hands Street Mission is, research and suggest ways to better our exposure through social media, work with staff to post for key donation needs, integrate the friends of Helping Hands into content as much as possible, assist in taking pictures and creating posts to thank major donors, and assist in the coordination and ongoing coverage of online fundraising campaigns. The Social Media Coordinator will also support story telling production work by participating in shoot days with Videographer/Production Manager, being mentored in how to capture and create compelling content, capturing video, photos and quotes to be used in future content, and assisting in the transition of larger scale media to social media platforms. During special events, the Media Coordinator will manage social media accounts through livestreams, stories and content creation.
As with all staff at Helping Hands Street Mission, the Social Media Coordinator will be required to align with Helping Hands Street Mission’s mission, vision and values, have an interest in social service work and seek to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in all the organization’s service and advocacy work. Education and experience in media/broadcasting/marketing related program would be considered assets. The Social Media Coordinator will build skills in adaptability, collaboration, communication, creativity & innovation, digital skills, problem solving, and technical skills as well as deeper understanding of the importance of EDI in our sector in addition to poverty & homelessness advocacy work through story telling by engaging community members, planning and implementing social media strategies, and supporting production work and content creation.
To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to info@hhsmhamilton.com and address to Alice. In your cover letter, please include how Helping Hands’ mission, vision, and values speaks to you.