JOHN ANDREW

FOUNDING DIRECTOR
FOOD TEAM COORDINATOR

When Lisa married John in 2008, she was thrown into street ministry living. Determining where she fit came a year later when the folks who had operated the local Soup Kitchen for thirty years requested that she take it on so they could retire. Lisa and a team of volunteers have been operating Soup Kitchen ever since.

During Covid-19 restrictions, the Community Soup Kitchen demonstrated grass roots resilience in providing oversight to a broad regional support service. A digital platform was developed through which people could communicate needs for food, check-ins or spiritual support. Three kitchens were set up to cook prepared meals for the region alongside partnerships with numerous food banks and many dozens of volunteers who cooked and delivered food and did wellness calls for vulnerable and at-risk people. More than 750 households were supported each week with both cooked and non-perishable food deliveries through this time.

Community Soup Kitchen teams provide three meals each week and oversee food programming for Connect Outreach. These meals serve as low-key times of connection and create opportunities for people to communicate needs for further help.

Lisa and John have seven children and four grandchildren. They live in Kentville with their three youngest children who they refer to as “the second litter”, a dog named Willow and a cat named Stan Lee.

BOARD MEMBER
KENTVILLE OUTREACH ADVISOR

Bruce Caldwell is our outreach advisor for the Kentville location and has long been an active volunteer and leader. Bruce wears many hats in our organization, he’s an advisor, bookkeeper, secretary of the board and part of the thrift store team. Bruce is known as “the guy who gets things done” and is loved by all who cross his path. Bruce was the youngest of 10 children. Growing up in Clementsport, he had fond memories of his childhood.

Remembering his days in a 2 room school house, he and his brothers made up the majority of the 5th grade class. Even though He was the youngest sibling, he was always the one the family called on in times of need. His calling to help others started way back then.

Bruce married his Bride Ann in 1985 and together they made a home in the valley and raised 2 boys. Bruce worked at Michelin for 30 years. He worked there until he retired at 52 years old. In 2002, Bruce was baptized and received his first communion recalling instantly feeling the power of the Holy Spirit and a calling on his life to show the love of Christ through helping others. A few years later he met John and became involved with Inn-from the cold shelter program. Since then, Bruce has been serving our community alongside John and Lisa in many capacities.

You can always find Bruce helping somebody, whether it be a need for food or to help a grieving family, Bruce will answer any call for help.

BOARD MEMBER
FOOD RESCUE COORDINATOR

After years in the food service industry, Heather became owner / operator of North End Market in Kentville in 2015. Alongside operating her business she volunteers with the Connect Outreach food rescue team and The Purple Peacock charity thrift store.

Heather grew up in The Valley and first heard and believed in The Good News as a child. While she drifted in her teens, she returned to faith and service in adulthood as a youth group leader, Sunday school coordinator and now as a volunteer with Connect Outreach.

She lives and works in Kentville with her husband, Bert. They have three amazing children and three beautiful grandchildren. Heather has a heart to serve and is thrilled to be part of the growing impact of Connect Outreach.

ADMINISTRATOR

Tanya Graves is a proud military wife and mother of 2. She began her service in the community in 2006 when she met John & Andy and became one of the original volunteers with open arms where they operated the first homeless shelter in the valley out of a tiny 2 bedroom apartment above Avery’s in Kentville.

In 2007, Tanya’s husband joined the Canadian armed forces, leading them to leave the valley for the first time and being posted to CFB Edmonton. After 10 years of military service and a fresh empty nest, Tanya and Jeff retired and returned home to the valley.

With a servants heart, Tanya sought out John & Lisa to see where she may fit in their organization. Since then, they have embraced Tanya and empowered her to serve along side of them. Tanya’s big heart and personality shines in our organization. She can be found at the soup kitchen serving up a homemade meal or at the emergency shelter helping those needing a warm place to find rest for the night. Together with her husband Jeff, they are a part of our food rescue team. Helping to supply supports to those in need of food security.

Tanya truly has the gift of hospitality. Showing the love of Jesus, East Coast style, with lots of food and friendship.

BOARD MEMBER

In the mid-2000s, Simon Goodfellow found himself unexpectedly committed—courtesy of a friend’s insistence—to a double-decker bus serving as a youth club in England. It was there he observed a remarkable phenomenon: the prayerful presence of Jesus manifested in tangible ways, evidenced by a notable decline in the neighborhood crime rate, as recorded by the police. Serving with Valley Connect Outreach, I consider it an honor to contribute to this collective embodiment of Jesus’s presence, which invariably brings about positive change.

BOARD MEMBER
MIDDLETON CHAPTER DIRECTOR

Becky has been working with the Community Soup Kitchen, Outreach programs and Connect Outreach for the past 12 years. Becky grew up in the church, and although both parents worked, it was seasonal jobs, so there were times when food insecurity was a real issue. At the age of 17, Becky’s dad passed unexpectedly, Becky started to walk away from the church, and eventually stopped going all together. Fast forward a few years, and 5 kids later, Becky had been a stay at home mom for 8 years and her last baby was heading out the door to school, at a loss for what to fill her days with and a loss of direction, she came across a post on Facebook that the soup kitchen was looking for people to help cook the meal. Contacting John was definitely a step outside of her comfort zone and it took a few weeks for Becky to get brave enough to step into the kitchen at town hall, but what an amazing group of volunteers she was greeted by. Since that time in 2012 when Becky first joined the Community Soup Kitchen, Becky has volunteered in many capacities, from the thrift store, to shelter, to making sure people still felt connected during the COVID lock downs, feeding people with food and the love of God has become such a huge part of not only hers, but her entire families way of life. Getting back to a God centered life has been such an amazing journey, and serving people is the way in which she was blessed to do this.

BOARD MEMBER

Brooklyn White is a committed community developer, harnessing her passion for change since graduating from Honours Social Work in 2018. With rich experiences collaborating with diverse organizations, she's focused on driving development, fostering program innovation, and maximizing organizational effectiveness.

In July 2023, Brooklyn achieved a notable milestone, becoming the only Canadian certified in Systemic Renewal after completing her training in Caux, Switzerland.

She returned from Switzerland and founded Renewing Hope Agency. Brooklyn's work is rooted in her interest in the transformative process of legacy building within organizations. Her exploration encompasses organizational morals, values and mindsets, all converging to shape the narrative of an organization's legacy.

Ultimately, Brooklyn’s goal is to establish a standard of practice that prioritizes accountability within the Canadian social services system, aiming to work towards prevention of harm, as well as bringing renewed hope through interventions.

FUNDRAISING & FOOD TEAM VOLUNTEER

Tara Steadman is a valued core member of our organization. She leads a team of volunteers for the Monday soup kitchen. She and her husband Adam are essential to our food rescue program and she is our fundraising coordinator. Tara puts her heart and soul into our yearly ticket auction and pie sale. These events and others help support our ministry efforts all year round. But where Tara really makes her mark is her passion for people. She enjoys meeting new people and hearing their stories. Gaining people’s trust through a non judgmental approach, always inviting people to come as they are. Her kindness and genuine interest always makes people feel valued and appreciated. Tara’s professional career as a personal care worker has helped shape the person she is today. Always recognizing in her clients their different abilities instead of focusing on their disabilities. She loves to build people up and empower them to tap into their full potential. Tara has a very full life and schedule, but she always makes time for our outreach family. Having a very close knit family of her own, she is blessed with a supportive husband, 2 daughters and 2 beautiful grandchildren. Having grown up in the same place she and Adam raised their girls and being influenced by her grandparents, especially her Nan, she emphasizes the importance of a connected community. It is well known their door is always open & their home a welcoming safe space. In 2022, Lisa reached out to Tara to recruit her to join the outreach team. Having always known each other, Lisa knew the great asset Tara would be for outreach. At a time when community connections felt more important than ever and trusting Gods timing Tara joined our Outreach team.

GRANT WRITER

Laura, a retired member of the Canadian Forces, has been an active volunteer with the Kentville Soup Kitchen, in collaboration with Valley Connect Outreach, since April 2023. She also contributes her skills in grant writing for Valley Connect and volunteers with FASMI (Family Alliance on Severe Mental Illnesses). Laura and her husband Martin reside by the lake, where they enjoy camping and taking walks with their dog, Daisy.