Random act of kindness

Don’t you just love random acts of kindness? I do. Today, Market Organics had a fridge break down on them. That’s the bad news. The good news is the folks there had a great idea of what to do with their milk and almond milk.

That’s right. They brought it to Shepherds of Good Hope where we can use it in the soup kitchen. It's fantastic that we can offer fresh milk to our clients who come in for as many as three meals a day.

This isn’t the first time Market Organics has done something wonderful for us. And there are a lot of Ottawa businesses, small and big, who donate to us regularly. We appreciate it all and we can’t say thank you enough. But there’s just something about a random act of kindness. It saves a bad day and makes a good day even better.

Being kind is probably one of the most important things we can be. Maybe someone added money to your parking meter. Maybe you needed directions and a stranger took the time to ensure you knew where you were going. Maybe it’s someone calling a tow truck when you have a flat tire and your phone is dead.

Post a comment and let me know when you've experienced a random act of kindness. And, as always, if you want to do your own act of kindness for Shepherds of Good Hope, you can find the details and contact information on how to do that on our home page. You can also call our main number at 613-789-8210 or visit us at 233 Murray St.

Tree of Hope is blooming

It’s spring and the leaves have bloomed. The leaves are also blooming on our Tree of Hope located in the lobby of our Hope Living Residence in Kanata.

This morning I was there to place another leaf on the tree on behalf of the Ottawa Catholic School Board Community. I want to give a big thank you to everyone there who raised money for our Tree of Hope Campaign. This is the second year in a row they've made a donation and each time they've donated $10,000.

The goal of the Tree of Hope Campaign is to give Hope Living a $500,000 upgrade. Thanks to your generous donations that have already come in, we’ve fixed the roof and made repairs to the foundation. We’ve also replaced some of the floors but there’s a lot more work to do. To date, we’re almost halfway through our campaign.

It was great to visit today. The trees were providing some much needed shade and it was nice to chat with the residents I've come to know over time. Many were outside on the patio enjoying the warm weather.

If you haven't heard about our Hope Living Residence, it's a supportive living residence in a quiet, suburban neighbourhood at 145 Castlefrank Rd. There are 99 beds and residents have lots of quality outdoor and indoor living space. We also have a nurse on staff and a full dining room with a creative chef, just to name a few of the services residents have access to. If you want to read more about the Hope Living Residence or any of our other programs, please visit here. 

If you want to contribute to our Tree of Hope Campaign, you can purchase a leaf in your name or the name of a loved one for $2500. Micah Garten, our Development Officer, would be happy to provide more information and take your donation. Please contact him at 613-789-8210, ext. 241 or send him an email at mgarten@shepherdsofgoodhope.com.