Whenever we host one of these things, we’re never quite sure how the night will go – mostly, we cross our fingers and hope for the best. None of us are professional event planners – which is probably why it takes us a few months to get everything together – but one thing is always constant:
Right around 6:30 in the evening, there’s this groundswell that starts building in your chest and about 90 minutes later, it feels like your heart might explode from all the inspiring stories you hear.
At least that’s the case for us.
While the news cycle can make us feel like the world is barely holding sway above flux, these events remind us that there is so much good happening all the time, and sometimes maybe only a handful of people have heard that story. And then when it’s your turn hear that story, you want help share that story. This is essentially the heart of Soup Ottawa. When you attend a Soup event, you aren’t just here to help us raise money, but also to hear stories that deserve to be heard (and eat delicious soup, of course).
For Soup #17, we were honoured to have Brenda Dunn (aka artinjest) – who studied English literature so naturally she is an incredibly talented visual artist – draw these stories for us. As a child, Brenda’s favourite past time was vandalizing public property with crayons. She is wants to make a gigantic colouring book drawing (but she needs your help). We can’t wait.
We heard from The Every Day Parent Project, who are trying to help other parents tackle the tough questions of the day. Kids have more access to information than any generation before – they’ll often be exposed to things sooner than expected, and with those experiences come the questions.
Helping With Furniture turns empty houses into a place to call home – helping those in need with furniture. With a backlog of hundreds on their waiting list, they have been on a two year journey to raise funds to purchase a truck to be able to help more people more quickly. As of October 25 2018, they are about $1500 short of their goal.
And then there is Th3rd Fridays – a dance battle event held – you guessed it – every third Friday of the month that brings together the often underserved and overlooked street dance community in Ottawa. Th3rd Fridays is looking for help finding venues to host their events (50 to a 100 people). Th3rd Fridays, and parent organization MoovOttawa, provides a healthy outlet and sense of community for at-risk youth in Ottawa.
And lastly…
Our winner: Camps for Children
A student-led organization that provides free summer camp programs to underpriledged children in Ottawa.
Lewis and Tommy shared their experiences growing up as new immigrants, raised by hardworking parents who did not have the means to send their children to summer camps and other organized activities. Camps for Children wants to use the money to be able to support more kids in their programs.
And of course, our sponsors
Thank you to the Montgomery Legion for hosting us and the Ottawa Mission Food Services Training Program for providing one of the most delicious lentil soups we have ever tasted – don’t worry folks, we have asked Chef Ric Watson where we can order it again.. and when we find out, we’ll let you know.
The Food Services Training Program is a five month program about much more than learning how to cook. The
participants in this program take courses in WHMIS, health and safety, the City of Ottawa’s Food Handler’s
Certification, standard First Aid and CPR. To apply, submit your resume and cover letter:
IN PERSON at:
- 35 Waller Street, Ottawa (map)
BY E-MAIL to:
And as always, Banfield Agency for providing much needed creative support.
