Thank you, Ottawa

It never ceases to amaze me how generous people can be.

Less than two days ago, we started a social media campaign to raise funds to repair our cube van. This is the truck we use to pick up all the food donations from our donors and partners. It's the food we use to feed the 1,600 men and women who rely on our services every day. We also use the truck to deliver food to our other facilities around the city. Having a reliable truck is important.

We decided to reach out to people through social media, mainly Facebook and Twitter. There are a lot of people who engage with us that way and we thought this campaign was something they could get involved in. We started by asking 600 people to donate $10 each. The CBC picked up on it and gave it an additional boost.

Everyone got involved in a big way. It didn't even take two days for us to far exceed our $6,000 goal. I was so touched by the number of people who donated. People took time to call and talk to us. Many of you donated online and left comments about the work we do. Thank you to everyone for those kind words.

Thanks to your generosity, our truck is going to be on the road in days. I want to leave you with one more thought. Today, you did more than just fix a truck. You showed once again you believe in the work we do for the homeless population in Ottawa. You helped ensure we can continue to do our job to feed people, to provide them with three healthy meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Yes, you helped fix a truck, but by fixing that truck, you helped the men and women we serve.