Ottawa Dads Group, Lola’s Kitchen deliver 125 meals for needy kids

Scores of Ottawa youngsters got a warm meal and an early Christmas present on the weekend, thanks to the benevolence of a large group of fathers and one caring restaurateur.

Members of the Facebook group Ottawa Dads Group (ODG) held their annual Holiday Drive on Sunday, delivering meals and new toys to 125 less fortunate youngsters across the city. Meals were also delivered to 32 parents.

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“We wanted to do something at least once a year that’s great for the community and great for the dads,” said ODG organizer Acie Tran. “It’s all about community. It takes a village to raise a child, and I think it’s also important that the dads are there for each other. We’re here to roll up our sleeves.”

Ottawa Dads Group member John Churchill was picking up 26 meals to deliver along with gifts to the Nepean area. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

According to Tran, the group found the recipients for Sunday’s deliveries through Facebook posts to all kinds of community groups, encouraging those in need to contact them.

“A lot of people are having a tough year, and we want them to know we’re here for them,” he says, “and if they need a little support, we’re always going to be here for them, not just at this time of year.”

This year’s was the fourth annual drive for the group and just the second to include meals, with Lola’s Kitchen, a Filipino restaurant on Somerset Street W., providing pancit, a rice noodle dish, and chicken adobo. Owner and chef Kim Epino learned to make both dishes from his grandmother, Eliza. He points out that his restaurant name — Lola — is Tagolog, or Filipino, for “grandmother.”

Lola's Kitchen server Karla Diel was helping move the meals from the kitchen out for the dads to pick them up. — Lola’s Kitchen server Karla Diel was helping move the meals from the kitchen out for the dads to pick them up. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Some of Epino’s expenses for Sunday’s meals, including a portion of the food costs, were paid from donations through ODG. The rest he covered himself.

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Helping others is second nature to Epino, who previously worked as an education assistant with special-needs students; a personal support worker with seniors; and a volunteer in Montreal’s shelters. Sunday’s event, he says, is one of about a handful of community ones he takes part in each year.

One of his goals, he says, is to one day own a small mall where he can have a Lola’s Kitchen restaurant and a community centre, “where I have a home for them, where they can come in and feel safe.”

Ottawa Dads Group member Yvon Martel was picking up a bunch of meals to deliver along with gifts Sunday evening. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

“I’ve always loved to help people,” he says. “That’s always been my thing. I’m not here to save the world; I’m just doing what I can, when I can. It makes me happy to give.

“I’ve never been in a situation like some of these kids,” he adds. “At the same time, I think we all have, one way or the other. We’ve all been lonely, right? We’ve all been alone. We’ve all been disappointed. We’ve all been sad. I don’t have to be like that kid , but I’ve felt those emotions, and that’s how I can relate to them.”

And so, as It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas played in the kitchen, Epino and his staff and volunteers carried 157 filled takeout containers to the front of the restaurant, when a steady stream of dads (and some sons) packed the meals into coolers and delivered them, with the presents, to Kanata, Nepean, Centretown, Beacon Hill, Embrun and beyond, each sharing a sentiment similar to 14-year-old Hudson Lavigne’s, who took part with his dad, Daniel.

“It feels good to do something good.”