Building Capacity at the Caldwell Family Centre Through Willis College Partnership

With the main hub of services located at 1475 Caldwell Avenue and the Food Bank operating from City View United Church at 6 Epworth Avenue, the Caldwell Family Centre is a steady hub of activity. Each day, staff, students and volunteers work together to distribute food, serve meals, and connect people with essential services – a response to a growing level of need across the city.

Like many Canadian cities, Ottawa has seen a significant increase in reliance on food banks and community support. Food bank use reached record-level highs in recent years, with more than one in four households in Ottawa experiencing food insecurity in 2024(1). Rising housing costs, inflation, and the increasing price of food have forced many Ottawa residents to make difficult choices between groceries, rent, utilities, and other essential expenses (2). 

As demand has increased, the Caldwell Family Centre’s role in the community has become more critical. 

A Longstanding Community Resource

The Centre’s work is rooted in decades of community service. Founded in the early 1980s, the Caldwell Family Centre began when Sister Thelma Marion and three other sisters from the Sacred Heart congregation moved into a house on Caldwell Avenue to respond to needs in the surrounding neighbourhood. What started as a small community-focused basement relief room offering food and clothing grew quickly as demand increased.

By 1984, the organization expanded into a larger space, establishing a food bank and drop-in centre, and offering additional supports such as English language classes and child-minding services for newcomers. The Centre was formally incorporated as a not-for-profit organization with charitable status in 1986. Its guiding principle – “for people, with people” – continues to shape its approach today.

Beyond Emergency Food Support

With their core mission “to reduce the impact of poverty in Ottawa”, the Caldwell Family Centre now offers a range of programs in addition to offering food assistance. As a member agency of the Ottawa Food Bank, the Centre distributes between 135 and 150 food boxes each day, supporting more than 1,800 adults and 1,000 children each month through their No One Goes Hungry program. 

Additional services include a daily drop-in centre providing meals and social connection, a computer cafe offering Internet access and printing, employment-readiness and life-skills programming, and the Hidden Gems Boutique, which provides affordable clothing and opportunities for work experience. The Centre also supports families through back-to-school programs, scholarships, and other wrap-around services that focus on addressing challenges such as addiction, housing, and access to educational/training courses.

Many of those who rely on Caldwell’s services return later as volunteers, contributing their time and experience to support others facing similar hardship. 

Operating with Limited Resources

Like many non-profit organizations, the Caldwell Family Centre operates with a small core staff, despite the breadth and complexity of its programming. As demand for services continues to rise, the Centre has remained committed to keeping operating costs low, ensuring that the majority of its resources are directed toward frontline services that directly support the community.

Volunteers are central to this approach. They support nearly every aspect of daily operations, from food distribution and meal service to administrative assistance and program support. Their contributions allow the Centre to remain responsive and flexible, adapting quickly to changing needs while maintaining consistent service delivery.

This volunteer-driven model not only stretches limited resources, but also strengthens the Centre’s connection to the community it serves — with many volunteers bringing lived experience and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by clients.

Strengthening Capacity Through Partnerships

Even with strong volunteer support, there are times when the Centre requires specialized skills or additional capacity that cannot always be met internally. As community needs grow more complex, so too does the need for expertise in areas such as program coordination, administration, and technology.

To help address these capacity gaps, the Caldwell Family Centre turned to its partners to access skilled support when it is needed most.

One such partnership is with Willis College. Through this collaboration, the Caldwell Family Centre connects with students seeking hands-on learning opportunities while gaining valuable support to strengthen its operations. Students contribute in areas where additional expertise is often required — including program delivery, administration, and technology — helping to shore up capacity and enhance service delivery from behind the scenes.

Over the years, the Centre has hosted more than 30 practicum placements through Willis College, allowing students to apply classroom learning in real-world settings while making a tangible impact in the community. For Caldwell, the partnership provides timely, skilled support that helps sustain its services amid rising demand. One such student, Robert Given, joined Caldwell in April 2024 as a practicum student and provided administrative and payroll support. Even after completing his placement, Robert continued volunteering his expertise for more than a year, becoming a valued member of the team.

“Student placements are invaluable for organizations in the not-for-profit space,” says Bonnie Shaw, Coordinator of People Engagement at Caldwell Family Centre. “They bring knowledge, energy, enthusiasm, and a renewed passion for community service. They provide support to services that simply could not operate without student and volunteer teams.”

As Ottawa continues to face rising food insecurity, organizations like the Caldwell Family Centre remain essential to the city’s social safety net, providing both immediate support and longer-term pathways toward stability.

To learn more about the Caldwell Family Centre and how you can support their mission, visit caldwellfamilycentre.ca. They are also always looking for dedicated volunteers—visit https://caldwellfamilycentre.ca/volunteer-today/ to get involved and make a difference in your community.

Sources:

[1] Ottawa Food Bank Hunger Report 2025

[2] Two-parent families, seniors increasingly turning to Ottawa Food Bank: report, November 14, 2025, CTV News