Cause We Care Foundation and HAVE Café provide Fall Harvest Family Meals for Single Mothers and their Children
for those in need
Tomorrow, October 8, 2020, Cause We Care Foundation and HAVE Café will be safely delivering 21 delicious family meals to the YWCA Cause We Care House to share, celebrate and give thanks. Complete with roast turkey, gravy, house-made savoury stuffing, mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, mixed greens, fresh buns and dessert – plus vegan and vegetarian options and even macaroni and cheese for the little ones.
Like many charities and foundations, Cause We Care has been forced to pivot outreach and fundraising efforts significantly this year. Typically the organization would host an annual fall dinner at the Ray-Cam Cooperative Centre. This year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions surrounding group gatherings, the alternative solution supports single mothers and their children two fold. Through providing a harvest meal to residents of the YWCA Cause We Care House and through engaging the services of the HAVE Culinary Training Society, which supports beneficiaries of Cause We Care’s Single Mothers Support Fund.
“It has been an incredibly challenging year for vulnerable populations in our community and we have spent countless hours brainstorming innovative ways that we can continue to support single mothers through a variety of new initiatives,” says Cause We Care Founder Andrea Thomas Hill. “This year, in partnership with the dedicated people at HAVE Café we are looking forward to being able to provide the comforts of a special home-cooked meal to the residents of Cause We Care House, while also supporting an organization that is our partner in the Single Mothers Support Fund.”
Cause We Care’s Single Mothers Support Fund launched in its pilot phase last fall, conceived to meet a clearly identified need in supporting single mothers who have shown resilience, desire and determination to complete educational or job training programs but are restricted by financial barriers. Through the successful program, grants have been provided to four mothers to attend HAVE Culinary Training Society courses. Standing for Hope / Action / Values / Ethics, HAVE is located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside just a few blocks away from the YWCA Cause We Care House. HAVE is a social enterprise that provides on-the-job training and work opportunities to marginalized students through operating a café and catering service where proceeds help directly fund and support programs.
“Cause We Care’s Single Mothers Support Fund truly removes all of the financial barriers for women and allows them to fully concentrate on their training at HAVE,” says Adriane King, HAVE Operations and Development Director. “Emotionally I’ve witnessed a big change in those who have received the funding; it’s like they can feel the strength and love of the people who support the Single Mothers Support Fund, all backing them as they take an important step towards further education and economic stability. There is an immediate change in attitude. So often women have doors shut on them and they are broken down, in survival mode. But getting this funding is an incredibly positive thing for them. Their load is lightened and they are more excited about their future possibilities.”
Coming full circle, the mothers enrolled at HAVE through the Single Mothers Support Fund are now able to be a part of providing meals to the current residents of the YWCA Cause We Care House – an initiative close to their hearts. Without doubt the pandemic has hit women and mothers hardest in our society and Cause We Care Foundation continues to find ways to support where they can be most impactful. For over ten years the Foundation has successfully aided local frontline organizations in supporting low-income single mother-led families across the Greater Vancouver area. For more information or to donate visit www.causewecare.org. For campaign updates follow @causewecare #singlemotherstrong.