Soup Sisters and The CIES REDI Program

The CIES Refugee Drop and Integration (REDI) program is now in full swing and this past week received a donation from Soup Sisters here in Calgary. A delicious lunch was enjoyed by clients and CIES was privileged to have had the opportunity to work with the organization.

In January and February over 500 soup makers, 100 volunteers and 1300 Calgary students participated in Soup Sisters soup-a-thon events yielding 5000 servings of fresh soup for Syrian newcomer families. A large portion of containers have been delivered through the community by a variety of outreach agencies and there are still many more available.   If you have access to small freezer space, perhaps you would be able to grab a small inventory at a time for distribution.

Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers was founded in 2009 by Calgarian Sharon Hapton who had a very simple belief in the power of soup as a nurturing and nourishing gesture that could make a tangible difference. Hapton believed that two of societies most prevalent issues, domestic abuse and youth homelessness would benefit from the care and warmth that comes in a bowl of soup. A powerful message that says 'we care' is now being delivered to over 30 residential shelters across the country through home-made delicious soup made with the finest ingredients.

Thousands of community people are coming together across the country to produce over 10,000 servings of fresh and delicious soups for women, children and youth each month. Since March of 2009, over half a million servings of soup have been delivered to shelters from East to West, and there is a growing network of over 30,000 Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers participants across the country.

CIES would like to thank Soup Sisters for connecting our REDI Program with their amazing soup and for all the work they do in the community. For more information about Soup Sisters simply visit their website. To Learn more about the REDI Program (in both Arabic and English) simply click the video below.