Hi ,

After the events of the past month, I think I will be less nostalgic whenever I see sepia-toned photos.

Those few smoky days towards the beginning of the month are a great reminder of how tiny little changes around us that we sometimes have no control over can have a big impact on us, changing an otherwise pleasant late spring day into what some observers in New York City compared to the surface of Mars!

A big, yellow, pungent smoke cloud is a pretty obvious sign something is amiss. Yet, there are plenty such warning signs across our country these days: interest rates on the rise, more and more Canadians unable to make their debt (including mortgage) payments, and a shift in unemployment numbers.

What does that look like in practical terms? We’ve recently started working with the University of Ottawa Students’ Union’s food bank. Requests for their help have increased 700 percent this year. Keep in mind this food bank has existed since 2007, so this is not mere enthusiasm for a new service that students are now aware of. 700 percent.

At the same time, there is good news - and it would be hard for us to take any credit for these exciting announcements, because I don’t believe in luck and coincidences! We’ve opened our brand new Ottawa warehouse, and commenced a new partnership with Amazon Canada’s #YOW3 west-end warehouse which has seen a flood of food and other goods come our way. From our new warehouse, these items can be redeployed to programs across eastern Ontario - like the uOttawa Student Food Bank. Next time you see me at one of our events, be sure to ask for the full story of how these new additions to the Lionhearts family came to be!

It would be easier for us all to shrink back in the face of large storm clouds - literal or otherwise. To look at the rise in demand at food banks and similar and say, “It is impossible for us to do much of anything to help.” But as British writer Vivian Greene once said, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” And whenever you lean into those difficult situations, it seems like you inevitably find others doing the same.

Whatever the forecast may hold, we thank you for sticking by us and those we serve.

 
Travis Blackmore
Founder/Executive Director
Lionhearts Inc.