SOUPER KIDS

The Cause

“Warming hearts…one bowl at a time” this is the Soup Sisters mission. Our Organization is an innovative community-building program that is 100% volunteer driven at the event-level. Using the concept of a community coming together in the making, sharing and donating of soup, Soup Sisters facilitates 28 hands on soup-making events each month across Canada. Soup produced is donated to local emergency shelters often helping to reduce their operating costs up to 20%. We also provide shelters a forum for social awareness; as representatives address groups at each event. Since 2009, over 500,000 “hugs in a bowl” have been provided to women, children and youth in crisis across Canada and stirred over 30,000 community people into action! What makes us clearly unique is our ability to reach women and children in crisis so directly and personally with the simple virtue of kindness.
Our Souper Kids Program encompasses hands on, peer to peer soup making programs that enrich the lives of young people in Calgary aged 8-17. Souper Kids creates philanthropic opportunities for youth while also promoting healthy relationships and eating habits. Currently events are subsidized by Soup Sisters and funding would assist us with the expansion and sustainability of this great initiative by being able to offer 2-standard monthly events rather than the current \"per request\" basis. The result would enable us to provide over 500 servings of fresh, healthy soup to youth shelters and bring more shelters, into our fold as soup recipients, allowing youth at risk to benefit from the thoughtful contributions of their peers.
We’ve witnessed the kinetics, heart and energy young soup makers pour into their tasks. Through our Souper Kids program youth at risk are acknowledged in a way as never before, and receive the message that the community believes in their potential.

Who Will it Benefit?

With fixed monthly ‘Souper Kids’ events, we can continue to provide the comfort and nurturing that comes with our ‘hugs in a bowl’ to more young people in crisis trying to better their lives. Youth 17-24 are at high risk of homelessness in our City. Our organization has created a program that allows homeless and marginalized youth to receive wholesome and nutritious soups that not only provide sustenance physically but emotionally as well.
Our youth based soup-making events not only celebrate youth engagement and promote entry level philanthropy amongst young Calgarians, but they enable Soup Sisters to further meet our mandate of providing sustenance and moral support to young people in crisis, typically 16-24 who are transitioning from street culture into mainstream society.
Our Organization subsidizes the youth events making them accessible for all regardless of social demographic. What makes us truly unique is that youth are not actually chosen to participate, rather they approach us looking for a fun and philanthropic event that also imparts social value. Outreach shelter agencies servicing youth at risk are in-fact the beneficiaries of the soups prepared by these groups. Limited in financial resources, we struggle to meet community demand in holding events for this demographic
Currently our Organization supports more than 5 youth-serving agencies through our standard monthly events; including The Doorway, Cornerstone Youth Centre, Homefront, Highbanks Society and Servants Anonymous in Calgary. The expansion of our program will allow us to increase our capacity and meet the demand of local youth serving agencies & Shelters to become recipients of our soup. ‘Your contribution will help us to keep the soup flowing to youth at risk in Calgary.