Every year leading up to Christmas, we are fortunate to have a group of volunteers from Hydro Ottawa visit Youville Centre to help us make the centre merry and bright!
Called “Holiday Helping Hands”, this volunteer initiative allows us to continue our great partnership with Hydro Ottawa.
Through their joint funding opportunity with United Way Ottawa, The Brighter Tomorrows Fund, Hydro Ottawa has answered our call for three years in response to energy-efficient projects around the centre. This has included washers and dryers, fridges, LED lighting, hot water tanks, and solar window film. All of these improvements have allowed us to provide our young moms and children with a safer, more cost-effective, more energy-efficient building.
During our “Holiday Helping Hands” day, volunteers arrive at the centre and receive a guided tour. We then ask them to form two groups: the bakers, and the decorators!
The bakers set to work making holiday-themed shortbread cookies that we could then freeze and store for our upcoming Christmas Luncheon.
The decorators set up two Christmas trees, and put up holiday decorations throughout the building.
By the end of the day the centre looked very festive, and the wonderful aroma of cookies filled the halls.
We truly enjoy each year when our Hydro Ottawa volunteers visit to help make our centre merry and bright for our young moms and their children. More than the baking and the decorating, it is the warmth and compassion that these volunteers show year after year toward Youville Centre’s mission, and the young families we serve. This year they even helped us with our newsletter!
Many thanks to this wonderful group!
