BY GEOFFREY LOUGHEED
This past Tuesday, I believe Sudbury enjoyed a defining moment at the community lunch for the Samaritan Centre.
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Roger and Kaireen Crichton (centre) received the Paul Harris Award this week. From left, Chris Kemp, president of the Sudbury Rotary Club, Michele Liebrock, president, Rotary Sunrisers, and Geoffrey Lougheed, chair of the All for One Campaign. |
Normally you sell tickets to an event to either cover the costs or make a profit. We wanted to insure that anyone could come including the people who use the soup kitchens. They are at the heart of why this building is going up. We decided to charge everyone exactly the same?nothing, not a single dollar. When you have no budget, it is a freeing experience as well as a matter of faith.
The first question was where to hold the event. I called the mayor and asked if he would consider allowing us to have the foyer at Tom Davies Square. I wanted him to understand we would close down all the soup kitchens that day, so we could expect a strong turnout of street people.
I was very impressed with Mayor Dave?s quick response, ?I am the mayor of all the people in Sudbury and everyone is welcome at city hall.?
We had our venue, now we needed a lunch. Jan Oystrick of the local Subway shops stepped up and offered 300 sandwiches. Sean at National
Grocers offered juice and chocolate bars. Michael of the Human League donated water. Abbie Poulton gave us apples and bags, and the City of Greater Sudbury provided coffee and tea. Three hundred lunches absolutely free.
How are you going to make up 300 lunches? You need volunteers. The Rotary Club of Sudbury, Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers, Chilly Beach
Productions, Human League and Pioneer Construction gave us a super team. Jamie Wallace and Pioneer Construction staff, as well as volunteering, provided sponsorship for the event.
Three hundred lunches were given out that day, and I estimate the crowd at well over 400 people.
We announced the Samaritan Campaign is ahead of schedule with more than $1.7 million raised. We announced the building process had begun on that day and we hope a completed building will be ready in 2005. But this was not the defining moment.
The two Rotary Clubs presented Roger and Kaireen Crichton with Paul Harris Fellowships. For more than 20 years, these two kind Sudburians have given selflessly. They are the heart and soul of the Soup Kitchen and have provided the leadership and strong arms to do the work. As important as the work of feeding the poor is, I believe they were given this honour because of their commitment to humanity. It is not just the cup of soup that nourishes a person, it is the hugs and handshakes, the acceptance of people whatever their limitations.
Kaireen and Roger give voice to the disenfranchised, and their love and care has made many of their clients an extended family. Within the walls of the soup kitchen, everyone is respected and given their dignity, a goal that we should all strive toward outside those walls. But this, as wonderful as it was, was not the defining moment.
As I surveyed, from the podium, this throng of people I had a moment of pause. I remembered the simple yet powerful words of a mentor of mine, Fr. B.J. McKee when he said, ?If people can see the need, they will give.?
I saw a well known member of our community bring a coffee to a street person. He sat down beside him. I don?t know what he said, but I watched them laugh, both genuinely spent a moment together; they bridged a huge gap in differences.
I did not have a camera , but it would have looked like a peace treaty after a social war, a wall of suspicion falling down or the smile of confidence in a one legged runner.
Geoffrey Lougheed is chair of the fundraising campaign for the Samaritan Centre and a committed Rotarian.
