Ottawa RedBlacks serve lunch

It was a special Friday for the men and women who turned up at the soup kitchen for lunch.

Serving lunch were four Ottawa RedBlacks players. A big thank you to the RedBlacks and to players Brandyn Thompson, Ettore "ET" Lattanzio, Jordan Verdone and Marcus Henry. Marcus' wife Stephanie was also on hand to greet the men and women coming through the door while cheer team member Ana Cruz had her own fan section at one of the tables in the dining room.

This is the second year the Ottawa RedBlacks have visited Shepherds of Good Hope. This is a team that knows the meaning of community and I really appreciate the time they took to be with us on their bye week.

When the clients showed up, they knew it wasn't the regular crew of volunteers. But as the players introduced themselves, people got pretty excited. There were a few Go RedBlacks Go chants. After lunch, they graciously met with some of the clients, signing autographs and having their pictures taken.

From left to right in the back: Anna Silverman, Executive Director of Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation, Mark Sluban, Community Events Specialist Ottawa RedBlacks, Jordan Verdone, Marcus Henry. Seated are Ettore "ET" Lattanzio and Brandyn Thompson

Ottawa Fury FC and Ottawa Redblacks Serve Over 350 Meals in Ottawa!

Today was a really exciting day in our soup kitchen at 233 Murray St!  Members of the Ottawa Fury FC, Ottawa Redblacks and the Ottawa Redblacks Cheer Team arrived to help out during lunch.  First we took them over to the shelter where shelter staff explained the programs as well as the need for these programs in the city.

After the tour we went back to the soup kitchen and everyone put on their aprons to help serve over 350 meals to the community!

From the Ottawa Fury FC, we had Drew Beckie, Marcel De Bellis, Omar Jarun, Ramon Soria Alonso and Devela Gorrick.  From the Ottawa Redblacks there was Jon Gott, Zack Evans, Moton Hopkins and Chevon Walker.  Also there to help were cheerleaders Claudia, Tania, Jenny and Mikayla.

The clients were very excited to see the celebrities coming down to help them out. 
Mark Legault lives at Shepherds of Good Hope, "It's pretty amazing, because we watch them on TV in the corner there at night or in the afternoon and to see them actually here is just like, wow! It's a nice treat," he said. "We encourage them on TV and now they're encouraging us. It's pretty cool."

That's not the only amazing thing these athletes are doing for Shepherds of Good Hope and their community.  On August 15th and 17th anyone who buys tickets to the REDBLACKS or Fury game with this order form will have a percentage of their ticket price donated to Shepherds of Good Hope. So now you can come show your support for both your team and your community, it’s a win-win!

Click HERE for information on those tickets!

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Thank you to Alison Sandor for the quote from Mark