/
/
/
/
/
CUPE 917 ramps up clothing drive for homeless, wins Golden Bean award

CUPE 917 ramps up clothing drive for homeless, wins Golden Bean award

And the Golden Bean goes to…CUPE 917! Chili champions, pictured left to right are Jodi Mclean, Nick Vagvolgyi, Brad Lockwood, Claude Champagne and Rosalyn Silletta.  And the Golden Bean goes to…CUPE 917! Chili champions, pictured left to right are Jodi Mclean, Nick Vagvolgyi, Brad Lockwood, Claude Champagne and Rosalyn Silletta. 

VICTORIA — CUPE 917 (UVic outside workers) helped feed the hungry and provide warm winter clothing to Greater Victoria’s vulnerable at the “Labour of Love” event co-hosted by United Way Greater Victoria Labour Committee and the Victoria Labour Council. As well as collecting more than 200 blankets, jackets and clothing, members of the local cooked a five-gallon batch of chili. They helped to serve and clear tables, wash dishes, and hand out jackets at the January 12 event.

CUPE 917 members Claude Champagne and Nick Vagvolgyi, a mechanic and carpenter respectively, prepared vegetables and cooked the chili after work the night before the event. They finished their recipe by simmering the winning concoction overnight in a double boiler. Their recipe included “everything,” with the (no longer) secret ingredient of cacao.

Representatives from the Victoria Labour Council, Our Place Society, and Together Against Poverty Society served as judges.

As well as winning the coveted Golden Bean award for the best-tasting chili, members got personal satisfaction through helping their community. The local is already looking forward to returning next year as defending chili champions.

“It feels good to help the United Way and homeless people in our community,” said CUPE 917 Treasurer Claude Champagne. “People really need support in January, when it starts to get really cold in Victoria.”

The inaugural event was held in January because typically donations drop off after Christmas, when the need for warm clothing becomes more acute. Within an hour of the event’s opening, almost everything had been claimed.

The local, which supported the event by contributing $500, was pleased to receive generous support from their employer as well. UVic’s Food Services donated chili ingredients while Resident Services provided used blankets.

Share this

Latest News

Budget 2024 tackles economic uncertainty with investments in public services and affordability – CUPE BC

Budget 2024 tackles economic uncertainty with investments in public services and affordability – CUPE BC

February 22, 2024
VICTORIA— Budget 2024 continues the BC NDP’s record of making meaningful investments in the public services that matter to people and communities, and creating and expanding programs that make life…
VICTORIA— Budget 2024 continues the BC NDP’s record of making meaningful investments in the public services that matter to people and communities, and creating and expanding programs that make life...

District of Chetwynd workers ratify new contract

District of Chetwynd workers ratify new contract

February 15, 2024
CHETWYND – After a collaborative round of negotiations CUPE 3052 members, municipal workers in the District of Chetwynd, have overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract. The new agreement includes wage…
CHETWYND – After a collaborative round of negotiations CUPE 3052 members, municipal workers in the District of Chetwynd, have overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract. The new agreement includes wage...

CUPE 1978 ratifies new agreement with Greater Victoria Housing Society

CUPE 1978 ratifies new agreement with Greater Victoria Housing Society

February 13, 2024
VICTORIA – CUPE 1978 members at the Greater Victoria Housing Society have ratified a new five-year agreement that provides improved working conditions for CUPE members, as well as enhanced supportive housing…
VICTORIA – CUPE 1978 members at the Greater Victoria Housing Society have ratified a new five-year agreement that provides improved working conditions for CUPE members, as well as enhanced supportive housing...