Tennille’s Hope burns its mortgage

Last Saturday, the Tennille’s Hope Community Kitchen celebrated a huge milestone. Guests and dignitaries were invited to join the volunteers and board members at the Royal Canadian Legion for a special turkey dinner followed by many speeches that expressed the excellent service the Society and its volunteers have provided for the town of Whitecourt over the years.

 At the end of the event, guests gathered outside for the main attraction, the burning of the mortgage papers on their building. The Society has held the mortgage for the past ten years and was proud to officially announce it has been paid off with the efforts of many fundraising events and donations over the years.

The whole idea of having a soup kitchen originated from a local mother, Jackie Mastin. Mastin’s daughter, Tennille, found herself tangled up in the sex and drug world as a young teen and with that, she ended up out on the streets. Mastin had many sleepless nights and worried a lot knowing her daughter was somewhere out there, and only found comfort during the times of Tennille’s incarceration, as Mastin knew she was being fed three meals a day.

Tennille was incarcerated in B.C. and was released back onto the streets in 2006. It was then; Mastin thought that no one should go without access to food. With the help of Laurie Ellis and Wanda Belbin that following year, they were able to support and help Mastin’s dream become a reality. In 2007, the Society for Tennille’s Hope Community Kitchen was born.

 For two years, the soup kitchen operated out of the Royal Canadian Legion each Wednesday with Lorraine Curtis, Kelly Gray and Irma Gray volunteering their time to cook. After time passed, the Society determined they could have a building of their own, and with enough fundraising and donations, were able to maintain the mortgage. Founding member, Laurie Ellis recalls the day sitting down with Patrick Carew at Remax going over available buildings when she received a call. The caller introduced himself as Gordon Gibson and indicated he had the perfect building for them, not only that but he would also carry the mortgage for the Society. Ellis described it as “a message from God” and accepted the offer. The cost of the building was $262,000, of which the Society had $10,000 for the down payment. The next surprise came when Carew donated the first two and a half months mortgage payments to the Society to help them get going. Now ten years later, the soup kitchen is stronger than ever feeding hundreds of locals each week.