Tillsonburg's 27th annual Great Soup Kitchen
Article content
The dates have changed and some years the volunteers and sponsors change, but Tillsonburg's Great Soup Kitchen at St. Paul's United Church continues to fulfill its main objective raising money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Traditionally held in February, organizer Sharon Craig from The Tillsonburg News said she postponed the 27th Great Soup Kitchen until Thursday, April 16 to avoid the worst of the winter weather.
"The last two winters in particular have been really bad," Craig noted.
Thursday's soup-and-sandwich crowd sampled a wide variety of soups, all donated by local restaurants and businesses, and sandwiches, with meat and buns donated by local grocery stores and bakers.
"I would say we had at least 100 people through here," said Heart and Stroke Foundation's Caitlin McDole, area coordinator for Brant Haldimand Norfolk Tillsonburg.
"It's a nice way to bring people together," said McDole. "And it's a nice way to give a little back, because everybody's touched by heart disease and stroke. It affects everybody.
"The money raised today will go to life saving research. The Heart and Stroke Foundation spends the majority of its money on research... because research knows no boundaries."
The 27-year-old Great Soup Kitchen, which was held for the first time in February 1988, was initially organized by Cam McKnight and Walter Kleer in response to an idea pitched by Stephen Molnar. It is unique in the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Tillsonburg area.
"It's the only soup fundraiser out of our office," said McDole. "But there are lots and lots of events that are volunteer driven. So we are very thankful, we couldn't do it without volunteers."
In addition to Tillsonburg News staff, a group of local community volunteers – including OPP Inspector Tim Clark – pitched in to help make it happen.
The list of donors is a long one. Contributing soup were Boston Pizza, The Bridges at Tillsonburg, Coffee Culture, The Copper Mug, Corey's Restaurant, The Cup and Cake, Mill Tales Inn, Kelsey's Restaurant, Gigi's Bistro and Cafe, Scotty's Family Restaurant / Howard Johnson, Tillsonburg Retirement Centre, and Wimpy's Diner.
Also contributing food items or door prizes were Canadian Tire, Chrissy's Store, Courtland Baker, Coward PharmaChoice, Coyle's Country Store, Jack's Snooker Club, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart and Zehrs.
"Tillsonburg is very good to the Heart and Stroke Foundation," McDole nodded.
BIG BIKE
The next Heart and Stroke fundraiser coming up on the horizon is the Big Bike – an exhilarating 2 km ride for 15 to 29 people around Tillsonburg's 'downtown' starting and finishing at Kelsey's.
"We also have our Big Bike event which is also coming up on May 25th, and we already have seven or eight teams registered for that (matching last year's number) and that's fantastic."
If you would like to register for Tillsonburg's 2015 Big Bike event, which kicked off the Big Bike season last year, or would like more information, contact McDole at 519-752-1301 or cmcdole@hsf.on.ca.
"We've got two new teams signed up this year and I'm really excited. We've got Freudenberg and Autoneum, they're both new."