Tickets selling quickly for Riverside Mission’s third annual Harvest Banquet

One of the guest speakers at this year’s Riverside Mission’s Harvest Banquet is from Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Regina, who will speak about the merger of the two organizations.

Joe Miller, executive director of Souls Harbour, will discuss the future of the non-profit organizations, including the desire to construct a new building for Riverside Mission on River Street. Besides Miller, attendees at the banquet will also hear from some of Riverside Mission’s clients, who will speak about their successes and growth thanks to the non-profit organization’s support.

The third annual banquet takes place Wednesday, Sept. 25 and Thursday, Sept. 26 beginning at 6 p.m. each night at Church of our Lady Roman Catholic Parish at 566 Vaughan Street. Tickets are $35 per person or $240 for a table of eight. Call 306-624-0137 to purchase tickets. “We expect to sell 400 tickets (in total). People should get them fast because they are selling,” said Rachel Mullens, manager of Riverside Mission.

Students from Vanier Collegiate will act as servers during both nights of the banquet, which will feature a four-course meal similar to last year, she continued. The first dish will be borscht, followed by a caprese salad. The main dish will be prime rib with maple glazed sweet potatoes and oven-roasted Brussel sprouts. Dessert will be caramel apple tarts. This is Riverside Mission’s largest fundraiser of the year; last year the banquet raised $20,000. The money goes to supporting programs, maintaining buildings, paying staff, and keeping the organization afloat.

The two-night event will give residents the opportunity to hear how the non-profit organization is doing, what its needs are, and to hear the stories of people who use programming at the shelter.

“It’s important because we want the community to know that we are helping people here,” Mullens said. “When they hear clients’ stories, then it encourages them to support us, whether it be financially (or) whether it be volunteering.

“It also gives the clients an avenue to speak about what they’ve been through and share their story. Perhaps others will hear and seek help as they have and see successes in their lives.” It’s good for Riverside Mission as an organization to see its clients speak about their successes since the non-profit group normally sees people at their worst, Mullens continued. The organization wants to support people who are homeless, are less fortunate, or who suffer from addictions. Therefore, it’s uplifting to see clients overcome their problems and lead better lives.

“It energizes us to continue,” she added. The Harvest Banquet started as a way to reach out to the community and share more about the organization, explained Mullens.

Riverside Mission was looking for a way to hold a fundraiser that was also exciting. The non-profit organization settled on food as a fundraiser since people love to gather around food. So, it appeared a banquet was the right thing to do to share those successes.

“People should come because it’s important to support the not-for-profits in our community, and not just Riverside Mission. We have good not-for-profits in our community that need to be supported, that are here to help make our city a better place,” she added. “And Riverside Mission is one of those.”