The Christmas Spirit

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was here serving the gravy as I usually do on Christmas Day. You never know who is going to drop by and this year was no different.

Magalie, 12, Felix, 11, Maxime, 9, Sophie, 8, Elyse, 4, and Alexandre, 2, dropped by with their parents. Maxime had suggested everyone spend the morning making sandwiches for homeless people before anyone opened their gifts. So that's what they did. They arrived at the shelter around 11 in the morning and delivered 40 sandwiches to grateful men and women.

What a wonderful thing to do. They could have spent their morning opening gifts and playing with them. But instead, they were in the kitchen making sandwiches. I know their parents Philippe and Veronic are very proud of their children. Thank you so much for stopping by on Christmas Day.

Every Christmas I get to witness selfless acts of generosity like this one.

Investors Group volunteers in the kitchen

For many years Investors Group has made it a point of volunteering in our Soup Kitchen. They were here again today. What a great looking bunch of volunteers in bright and early to help prepare our daily meal.

I want to thank everyone for coming out again this year and volunteering at a special time of the year.

If you're interested in group volunteering, please check out our volunteer page.

Learning from the actions of children

I make it a point to blog every time someone tells me about another group of children making a wonderful donation to Shepherds of Good Hope. At this time of year, I could probably blog several times a week.

This week, a big thank you goes out to the students of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Orleans. On Tuesday, this group of Grade 1-6 students gathered in their gym and made over 2,000 sandwiches -- 2,090 to be precise. It took them less than a morning.

Sandwiches are so important to us. Although the soup kitchen is open for three meals a day as well as an evening drop-in, hunger doesn't follow a schedule. At any time of the day, someone could come to our doors, hungry and cold, and ask for a sandwich. Thanks to schools like St. Francis of Assisi, we have a sandwich to give them. During our evening drop-in, which is for clients as well as anyone living in the community, we make sandwiches and soup everyone.

There is a lesson here to learn from the students. First, it doesn't take a lot of work to make an impact. Secondly, the children don't question what the impact is of making sandwiches or making some other type of donation. They simply do what they can to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. They are also very eager to soak up what knowledge they can about homelessness. They want to know why people are homeless. They want to know what we do to help the homeless people. More importantly, they want to know what they can do to help the homeless. We can all learn from these children.

In the photo are some of the students who made the sandwiches. Thank you taking them all out to our truck. I know Don and Steve appreciated the extra help.

Microsoft Ottawa donates sandwiches

I've blogged before about how many people will be hosting holiday luncheons and other events over the next month. Some don't even wait for a holiday.

On Thursday, we got a call out of the blue from our friends at Microsoft on Queen Street. They had sandwiches, bottles of juice, fruit platters and other delicious treats that they wanted to donate to us. So out went two people in a little Hyundai thinking they were just picking up a few sandwiches.

There was so much good stuff that they had to put the back seats down and pile it in the car and then drive very carefully back to Shepherds of Good Hope. Men and women were lined up outside for supper and they could see some of the wonderful sandwiches and treats we were delivering to the soup kitchen.

Thank you so much to the wonderful people at Microsoft.

It's that easy this holiday season. If you find yourself with leftover trays of food after your holiday lunch, just give us a call or you if you're in the neighbourhood, you can drop it off at our backdoor (Door No. 3) located at the back of our parking lot.

If you would like to make a donation, please call me at 613-789-8210, ext. 247.

Students getting a charitable education

One of the fun parts of my job is getting a chance to meet with so many students who come to Shepherds of Good Hope for a tour.

Regular readers of my blog know I'm a big believer in everyone getting a firsthand look at what we do. We're very well known for being a shelter and a soup kitchen. Food and shelter are indeed two very important things Ottawa's most vulnerable men and women need. But we are so much more and over our 32 years, we have moved beyond a soup kitchen.

Typically students come for a tour because they want to do something for us. They want to give back to those most in need, especially as we get closer to the holidays. They visit because they want to see the impact their donation is going to have. Quite often it inspires them to exceed their original goal.

Depending on the size of the class, students get a tour of the soup kitchen, the food and grocery program and we also give a short presentation on our other services.

This morning students from Pierre Savard School and Immaculata High School were here. Thank you so much everyone for coming out.

Businesses that do their part

I think it's great that I have several opportunities a week to blog about local businesses that do their part of help Shepherds of Good Hope. Whether it's coming down for a volunteer session, organizing a food drive or collecting money for allowing people to wear jeans during the workday, it all goes to helping us care for the men and women who come through our doors every day.

Recently, Royal Lepage Team Reality, owned by Kent and Gail Browne, had a party for the clients. When it was over, they had a lot of food left. So they turned to us. We didn't hesitate to accept their donation. With November just around the corner, the planning has already started for a lot of local businesses to have holiday or Christmas lunches, parties, events and so on. If you find you've ordered too much, you don't have to throw it out. We can use that food. If you had it catered, your food likely came on trays with plastic wrap or some sort of covering. Just pack it up and bring it to Shepherds of Good Hope.

For Kent and Gail, not only did they serve their clients with some great food, but they also ensured some of Ottawa's less fortunate people also got to enjoy a nice meal. Thank you!

Clients get a special meal

The men and women who come to our soup kitchen never complain. They're thankful for a meal. But even though they're grateful, it's still nice when we can serve them something different than usual. Today, thanks to a donation from Creative Kosher, we were able to serve trout.

I was in the soup kitchen when the first clients walked in and the look on their faces when they saw what we were serving almost brought tears to my eyes. These are some of Ottawa's most vulnerable men and women. I'd love to be able to serve them meals like this every day. Take a look at these photos.

It's award season for schools

Even though school has only been in session for a few weeks, it's time to honour two schools with the Ottawa Catholic School Board.

At our annual general meeting Tuesday evening, we celebrated the fundraising efforts of St. Francis of Assisi and Sacred Heart High School. The students of St. Francis of Assisi, an elementary school, made more than 2,000 sandwiches last year and also donated several bags of clothing.

Sacred Heart students were honoured for a third year. Their students made more than 5,500 sandwiches last year and also volunteered in our soup kitchen.

Congratulations to Sacred Heart and St. Francis of Assisi. We appreciate very much the effort you made to help us care for Ottawa's homeless men and women.

This year is shaping up to be another banner year. We're barely a month into the school year and several schools have asked about tours and presentations while others have already indicated they are doing food drives in time for Thanksgiving.

Desserts for the homeless

There are very few of us who don't enjoy a nice dessert after a meal. It might be something to satisfy your sweet tooth or it might be a healthy piece of fruit.

Sometimes when I ask for donations of desserts, there is a bit of a pause. People want to help but they wonder if the priority should be on food instead.

I can understand their thinking. But for the men and women who rely on our services, that dessert after supper might be the one highlight of their day. It might be the only treat they had that week.

It's often something simple. Maybe a small cup of grapes or strawberries. Maybe it's a cupcake that was donated to us by a grocery store or a bakery. Someone might have donated leftover sweets from a family gathering or an office function. Earlier this summer, Loblaws donated ice cream bars to our client barbecue and they were a huge hit, especially as it was a warm day.

Yes, we want to ensure the people we serve don't go hungry, that they can get three nutritious meals. But a small dessert at the end of the day means just as much to them.

If you have dessert items you would like to donate, please contact me at 613-789-8210, ext. 247 or by e-mail at asilverman@shepherdsofgoodhope.com.

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

The spirit of giving

Yesterday I blogged about how parents can get their children involved in helping charities.

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting an eight-year-old girl who doesn't need to be taught the spirit of giving.

Hayley spent the last few weeks and the first week of her summer vacation collecting goods and food for Shepherds of Good Hope. She did it by reaching out to her neighbours and area businesses where she lives.

Today, she delivered dozens of bags of clothing as well as cases of food; things like soup, coffee and bottled water.

Hayley is a special girl. Even though she's only eight, she knows there are people in our community who are going without what you and I take for granted. And so she wants to make a difference.

Hayley raised so much that we had to send out one of bigger trucks in order to get it all back to the shelter.

Hayley and her family then stopped by so that we could give them a tour of our soup kitchen and the food/grocery program.

It touches my heart when children want to help us out - either on their own or as part of their class at school.

There's a saying that society is judged by how it treats its least fortunate. (There are quite a few variations of this saying).

Well, let me just say, with children like Hayley, our society has a bright future.

The lessons of volunteering

Today, six retired Ottawa Catholic School Board principals had a very early start to their day. They came to the soup kitchen and started to peel potatoes and carrots for a stew we’re going to serve at lunch. It’s actually a bigger group of principals but they rotate their visits, coming in several times a year to not only help make the food, but serve it as well.

Two things about their visit stayed with me today. One principal noted that for years she and her students had donated to Shepherds. It might have been canned goods, maybe some clothes for the clothing program. But she thought it was important to donate her time so that she could see the other side, to see what happens with the donation.

The second thing she said was that you never know who you might be serving. It might be a former student from 10 years ago who has since fallen on hard times. Think about that. Homeless people or people who need a meal are you and me. They are people who have fallen on hard times, who are vulnerable, who need our help.

When I heard there was a group of retired principals preparing lunch today, I went downstairs to thank them. It always makes my day better when I can meet the people who give so freely of their times. It's uplifting. But more importantly, it makes a better day for our clients who come in and depend on us for a healthy meal.

If you would like to volunteer with Shepherds of Good Hope, you can visit our volunteer page on our website or contact our Volunteer Services Team at 613-789-8210, ext. 239.  

The debate over food

I came across some interesting news last week that we posted to our Facebook page. And by your reaction and the number of times you shared the story, it created a bit of a buzz.

In France, a law has been passed that bans large supermarkets from throwing out unsold food. The law obligates them to donate it to charities. And in Germany, a network of free food distribution sites was set up (in addition to the existing food banks) as a way to distribute unused food. A study found that more than 60 per cent of food waste in Germany was unnecessary. People were shocked.

Some Ottawa grocery stores are very good at finding a new home for the food they can’t sell. We benefit from their generosity. But do we need a law like the one they have in France? I’d love to hear what you think.

I wonder how many people know where we get our food. It’s obvious it’s donated. But where does it actually come from? Well, as I mentioned, some of it comes from grocery stores. Another chunk comes from small markets, bakeries, independent food stores, school can drives, food producers, and ordinary Ottawans who stop by our back door at 233 Murray St. You can never give too little. We take whatever donation you can give us.

We have a lot of regular donors, but we also have a lot of unexpected donations. Earlier this week, we had someone drop off a few tubs of ice cream. That’s a great dessert to serve in the soup kitchen, especially on a hot day. We also had a group drop off a box of muffins that they had bought for a company event. It might have been 20 muffins but that meant 20 men and women who use our services every day were able to have a muffin for breakfast or maybe as an evening snack when they came to our drop-in. Another example is a company that held a staff barbecue and had several packages of hot dog rolls and hamburger buns left over. We can us all of this in our soup kitchen or in our grocery program.

We all need shelter and we all need food. The 1,600 men and women who use our services every day are no different. If you would like to donate to our grocery program, it’s as simple as dropping it off at 233 Murray St. You can also contact Dan, who runs the grocery and clothing program, at 613-789-8210, ext. 243.

(Below, ice creamed is served earlier this week in the soup kitchen at 233 Murray St.)

The kids are all right

We’ve always heard the axiom “Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders.” Or we’ve heard some variation of that. And sometimes when it’s said in a room full of adults, there’s a bit of good-nature eye rolling when we think of what today’s youth is getting up to, the music they listen to and the activities that preoccupy their time. It happened to us when we were young, too.

But I can tell you from experience there are thousands of kids across the city who are going to be great leaders one day. In fact, they are already taking the lead.

Recently, the elementary students at St. Thomas More School made 300 sandwiches for the Shepherds of Good Hope. They also collected three crates of canned goods. That’s well over 100 cans of food that we can use in our soup kitchen or in our twice-a-week food bank. For the hundreds of men and women who rely on a good meal at the Shepherds, there is nothing better than a freshly homemade sandwich at lunch or in the evening when people drop in.

As students get ready to enter their final month of school, I want to thank all of the students who took the time this year with their school to donate sandwiches, goods, and most importantly, their time.

With students like these, I have a lot of faith in our future leaders.

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.

St. Clare Sandwich Day Continues to Grow

When St. Clare Catholic Elementary School let us know that they were planning on doing sandwich day again this year, we immediately let the soup kitchen know about the date. Last year St. Clare's provided over 800 sandwiches and so we wanted the soup kitchen volunteers to know that they could focus their energy on other tasks for that day.

Well St. Clare managed to out do themselves by making 1027 sandwiches and providing a host of other food all of which will go towards feeding hungry men and women both at the soup kitchen and at some of our supportive living facilities.

We are so grateful to the students and staff at St. Clare's for this incredible bounty and for continuing the tradition of giving back to Ottawa's most vulnerable.

Holy Trinity School

Today on my regular visit with all of our kitchen volunteers, I met some new friends,  the kids from Holy Trinity School.  They came in to volunteer and make sandwiches for our clients.

Thanks for helping out the hungry in your community!

Meet The Chefs!

Would you like to spend a fantastic evening in the company of some of Ottawa’s finest chefs all in the name of helping the homeless?

A Taste for Hope is an extraordinary culinary event in celebration of Shepherds of Good Hope’s service to the most vulnerable men and women in our community.  You will be able to sample dishes prepared by many talented local Ottawa chefs ranging from signature creations to the exotic, as well as fine wines and local beers. All proceeds from this event will be used to serve the 1,600 men and women that come through our doors every day.

Jean Pigott Hall, Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West (Ottawa) 

Wednesday, March 25, 6pm to 9 pm

$150.00 Each ticket will receive a $100.00 tax receipt.

FIND OUT MORE HERE!

Some of the amazing chefs in attendance will be:

 Chef Jason Laurin, Essence Catering

A Cordon Bleu Cuisine and Pastry graduate, Chef Jason Laurin has been honing his craft for over 20 years. Having worked in Montreal, Toronto and Dallas before arriving in Ottawa, he brings his food memories from each of his stops along his career journey. His contemporary style is based in classical training. Chef Jason is able to design and execute menus that reflect the unique qualities and tastes of each of Essence Catering’s clients.

Chef Briana Kim, Café My House

Chef/Owner Briana Kim opened her plant-based restaurant Cafe My House in winter 2009 in hopes to provide creative and approachable vegan food to people who wouldn't normally seek out a vegan restaurant. The new location in Hintonburg focuses in seasonal, changing menu, tasty artisanal cocktails & fun special events like Speakeasy Night, Nut Cheese & Wine event & Pizza and Beer Night.

 Chef John Morris, NAC

Chef John Morris was born in Bathgate, Scotland, and raised in Ontario. John, who has been cooking for more than 18 years, began his career as an apprentice at the Kananaskis Lodge in Alberta. He was a key part of the team who achieved the CAA Four Diamond awarded to Perspectives restaurant at the Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa. Later, after a culinary stage in Bermuda, John joined the team at Caesars Hotel and Casino in Windsor. He was executive sous chef at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel prior to joining the National Arts Centre in 2009, the same year he received the 2009 Gold Medal Escoffier Society of Toronto Culinary Salon.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

FIND OUT MORE HERE!

#JOEYCupOfCare

Yesterday was an exciting day in the soup kitchen!  This time with amazing soup from JOEY Lansdowne!

JOEY Restaurants has an initiative called JOEY Cup of Care where staff from the restaurants prep and prepare thousands of bowls of soup for hungry people in the community.  We had the pleasure of having the JOEY staff in our kitchen to serve lunch and dinner for our wonderful clients.

The JOEY staff also pitched in with day to day chores of prepping vegetables

And we also had special guest server, Mayor Jim Watson there at dinner to serve the delicious soup to our clients.

 

Thank you so much to JOEY Lansdowne and Mayor Jim Watson for helping us help those in our community!

A Valentine's Day Celebration

Happy (Early) Valentine's Day!

Because Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday, we took the time out today to make a very special meal for our community!  Our friends at Fitzroy Beef Farmers donated enough delicious beef for us to cook over 400 roast beef meals for lunch!

Our wonderful kitchen staff and volunteers started preparing yesterday.

And today at lunch I came down to the kitchen to help our volunteers carve the roast.

And to top off this fantastic Valentine's Day meal, we handed out special chocolate treats to our clients.

Thank you very much to Fitzroy Beef Farmers, our staff and our volunteers for making this a special day for those in our care.  Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at Shepherds of Good Hope!