Taxi drivers donate $9660 to Ottawa Food Bank

“It’s the best – it’s happiness”

Donating to the Ottawa Food Bank is “the best!” says Taxi driver George Chamoun of Capital Taxi.

“It’s the best feeling. Every year, it is the best,” says Chamoun, who has been part of the annual food drive for about 15 years.

“Knowing that you are helping a family that has less than yours, knowing that you are helping to to put food on the table of someone that needs it is the best feeling there is, all year long. It is true happiness,” he adds.

Chamoun, who has been driving in Ottawa full-time for decades says that it’s important the industry give back to the city: “We make our living from the people who live in Ottawa every day, all year. It is important that we contribute and give back to those people when they need help.”

Coventry Connections’ Executive Operations Coordinator Sarah O’Connor explains that whatever funds the drivers raise is matched by the drivers’ union and Coventry Connections.

“We got a late start this year, and I initially thought we would do well to get to $5000 or $6000, but in the end it was $9660. The drivers did a fantastic job.”

O’Connor told Taxi News that she is from a very large family: “My father had eighteen brothers and sisters. Every year, all of my aunts and uncles would organize to help a one or more families that needed help, a family that could not afford a Christmas meal or presents for the kids.

“One set of sisters would go food shopping, while another set of sisters would be cooking and packing baskets…as a kid, delivering these things to families that truly needed them made a real impression on me. I could see that my family was making a real difference. Those are some of my most important memories, that have stayed with me forever.”

“The Ottawa Food Bank was honoured to receive an incredibly generous $9,660 gift from Coventry Connections — a donation that amounts to over 2,400 meals for families in Ottawa,” says Natalie Spooner of the Ottawa Food Bank.

“We know that the winter and holiday season can be exceptionally challenging for our neighbours. The generosity shown by Coventry Connections and their supporters at the CTV Your Morning Ottawa Food Drive will go a very long way in helping us purchase fresh, healthy, and nutritious food for the community. Thank you for thinking of others this holiday season!”