By Rachel Adrian, Fall Intern
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Earlier this week we had the chance to attend The Big Stir, a fundraising event for Soup Sisters, a non-profit social enterprise that brings people together to make a tangible impact in their communities. Calgarian Sharon Hapton, founded Soup Sisters in 2009 with the simple belief that a bowl of soup was the perfect nourishment to help people get through difficult times. Since then, they have delivered over half a million servings of hearty soup to women’s emergency shelters across the country and made an immense impact on the much needed conversation about domestic abuse.On November 18th at Soup Sisters’ annual event, The Big Stir, we teamed up with some of Calgary’s finest chefs to chop and stir our way to 1, 548 servings or 2500 litres of soup! The soup was then distributed to 10 women’s shelters across Calgary in support of Domestic Violence Prevention Month. Wonderful guest speakers such as Christopher Rout highlighted the importance of this incredibly important issue in our city. The Big Stir brought Calgarians together to talk about domestic violence, fellow citizens in need and the healing power of a bowl of soup.In addition to their annual ‘The Big Stir’ event, Soup Sisters also holds monthly events in cities across Canada and in Los Angeles. Participants pay a $55 registration fee and sign up for a date and time with friends or coworkers. The fee goes to pay for ingredients, the culinary partner and ensure that Soup Sisters quality standards are maintained in all of their soups. Sign up to become a ‘soup-maker’ and make a difference for people in your community here! Soup Sisters has also published two bestselling cookbooks, full of delicious soup recipes perfect for Calgary’s long winters. Both are available for purchase online at Chapters and Amazon and at other specialty retailers and proceeds go to Soup Sisters operations.By operating with a strong social commitment at the center of everything they do, Soup Sisters embodies the principles of a thriving social enterprise. Making a tangible impact on everyone they work with, Soup Sisters has also shown incredible opportunities for growth and scalability.When it comes down to it, there is really nothing more comforting than a big bowl of soup made with friends. This event was a great opportunity to make a difference in our community, learn about the great work that Soup Sisters is doing and not to mention, have fun with our friends and colleagues!
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