Graduation day for the Mission’s Food Services Training Program students
The Food Services Training Program at the Ottawa Mission gives those less fortunate a chance to turn their lives around, and it has made a big impact on former and current graduates.
After four months of training, Sarah McCaffrey is finally graduating. She grew up on the streets of Ottawa, and is currently living with cancer, but she didn't let that stop her from doing what she loves.
"Figuring out how to make something delicious out of nothing was always a very important thing to me," says McCaffrey. "This was just a chance to hone in on my abilities and get some validation."
This is a celebration for students who completed the program, which has helped people using their services get jobs in kitchens across Canada with a 90 per cent success rate. The Mission's executive chef Ric Allen-Watson created the program in 2004.
"We don't look at the student's past. We look at their future," says Allen-Watson. "We have 10 students that are graduating our four month food services training program. So they’ve worked for the last four months very hard to get to this point. All 10 are fully employed and excited for a new future."
"All his vision. All his concept," says Mission CEO Peter Tilley. "What started as five students graduating in the first class is now up to 10, 11, 12 graduating on a regular basis. It’s a great thing."
Arnold Wabegijig has struggled with alcohol. He says this program has helped him eliminate most of his drinking.
“It changed my life,” says Wabegijig. “This program gave me the motivation to succeed. There were many challenges but I kept going.”
Today, ten students celebrate and look ahead to new careers thanks to The Mission and Chef Ric.
"Even me as a 40-year-old single mom on disability, I never thought in my wildest dreams that, not only would make it this far, but enjoy it just as much," says McCaffrey. "And be offered as many opportunities as I have been offered because of this program."
"I’m so grateful to the Ottawa Mission for this program," says Wabegijig. "And I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.