Canada – Quebec Region
Barbeque fundraiser for people in need
This organisation offers daily meals for low-income citizen and the elderly, and it tries to help alleviate loneliness while creating a safety nest network. During 2024, this very worth beneficiary made a difference for 597 people including 98 children.
This was the first year of engagement with Soupe et Compagnie at St-Sauveur. Caroline and Marguerite participated at their annual barbecue to raise funds for the good work done by this organisation while also treating and thanking their members. There were over 150 participants at the event and the Aspen team helped with the logistics. They also assisted senior guests with digital payments as most of them are not familiar with this form of transaction.
Soupe et Compagnie was most grateful for Aspen’s help during the day and more so for the 500$ gift card for groceries which are desperately needed. The activity was also highly relevant to the Aspen volunteers as it directly benefited the community at a time when less fortunate citizens are being deeply impacted by the rapidly escalating cost of living.
Changing lives, one dog at the time
The Québec-based Mira Foundation provides guide-dogs and service dogs to people living with visual impairments and physical disabilities. Mira was founded in 1981 and as a non-profit organisation it is dependent on donations and fundraising activities to train their dogs. Despite the 35000$ cost to raise and train a dog, Mira has been able to provide 3 800 dogs to disabled people at no charge for more than 40 years.
Each year, The Mira Foundation hosts The Power Dog CrossFit Fundraising Competition. More than 500 athletes participated in the event this year which enabled this NPO to raise 285 000$.
On 7 June 2025, Agnès Zielinska and Joannie Potvin from Aspen Canada’s Québec office volunteered their time at this major event in celebration of Mandela Day. They spent the day assisting with logistics, welcomed the athletes and attended to their needs, and distributed t-shirts, posters and bags for the competition. They also presented The Mira Foundation with a donation of 500$, much to the delight of Maxime Gauthier, the corporate and community engagement coordinator.
One person can make a big impact!
Since 1987, Moisson Québec has been the only food bank in the greater Québec region. Its mission is to act on food insecurity to improve the quality of life of people living in difficult socio-economic conditions. Moisson Québec distributes food to 133 accredited organisations, and it receives more than 334 000 requests for food aid annually. They also welcome people who are living with autism and their community impact extends to enable the social reintegration of offenders.
Moisson Québec has 20 regular volunteers who assist with food preparation and distribution despite the demand for support having doubled since the Covid pandemic. They are severely resource constrained which is a major problem and results in high relief volunteer dependency to fulfill their mission.
On 14 July, Nancy Regnier from Aspen Canada’s Québec office volunteered to serve at Moisson Québec for the first time. She tended to multiple tasks including sorting produce, preparing pallets of food, transporting and distributing the meals. As a proud Aspen Mandela Day Ambassador, Nancy also handed over 500$ gift card donations to the Jean Coutu pharmacy chain. The donation was gratefully received as it will fill the pressing need for specialised items such as infant diapers.
