Cornerstone Housing for Women celebrates 40 years at garden party

With Ireland known as the land of one hundred thousand welcomes, it was no surprise that its ambassador to Canada extended the same warm reception to his guests when they visited on Sunday.

Eamonn McKee and his wife Mary opened their official residence in Rockcliffe Park to Cornerstone Housing for Women, allowing the non-profit organization to hold its charity garden party and fashion show. Not only did the event raise funds but it also celebrated Cornerstone’s 40 years of helping women in the community who need it most.

The affable ambassador credited the organizing committee for getting him onboard, singling out the persuasive powers of volunteer Donna Anderton. “Donna knows that if there’s one thing that works with the Irish, it’s guilt,” he joked.

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Also on the committee is Joseph Cull, whom the ambassador described as the “greatest export” of the Ottawa Valley village of Douglas, where many of its residents are of Irish descent. Cull, who’s been leading fitness classes at the Taggart Family Y for 25 years, emceed the fundraiser with his usual effervescent charm. 

McKee gave a big shout-out to the volunteers who arrived at his place by 9 a.m. that day to get ready “like a military operation”.

“It’s great to have you here,” he said in welcoming a crowd of about 200. “It’s also great to be able to do this because it is such an amazing cause.”

The garden party, presented by RBC, saw Sheila Whyte’s Thyme & Again cater the fundraiser, with drinks provided by Cave Spring Vineyard, The Vine Agency and Big Rig Brewery.

The fashion show portion of the event was organized by Ottawa designer Frank Sukhoo of Sukhoo Sukhoo Khooture. It featured models and clients in his gowns, chic cocktail dresses and snazzy suits. “Glamour with a purpose” was how the ambassador later described it. There were also beauty experts working behind the scenes, including award-winning stylist Anica Iordache from ModMop in the ByWard Market, stylists from Scissors, and makeup artists from Dior and Anthonia. Organizers played it safe and moved the fashion parade indoors because the weather was iffy that day.

Sukhoo has done the show for Cornerstone for 12 years now, with the most recent one in 2017. “I’m happy it’s back,” Sukhoo told OBJ.social. “It’s fun to do and it’s for a good cause.”

Afterward, McKee posed for photos outside with Sukhoo and his fashion models while Mary first grabbed a photo of them all with her smartphone. “I’m going to send it to our kids and say, ‘There’s dad’s Sunday afternoon with beautiful girls’,” she told them good-naturedly.

The McKees, who’ve been in Ottawa since 2020, will be leaving Canada later this summer to return to Dublin, where McKee is to become chief of protocol.

The ambassador shared with the room a fun story about his childhood obsession with fashion, inspired by Cull’s wide-brimmed garden party hat from Chapeaux de Madeleine. “When I was three years of age, my mother had this enormous pink hat that, for some reason, I bonded with and wore all the time. Literally, all the time, this big pink hat,” he told the room.

Not only did McKee outgrow big hats but he knew enough to “draw the line” at the green shorts his grandmother used to knit. 

This year, Cornerstone Housing for Women celebrates 40 years of providing hope, support, housing, healing and empowerment to women facing homelessness.

It works with such community partners as Family Services of Ottawa, Minwaashin Lodge, the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, Elizabeth Fry Society, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and Ottawa Inner City Health.

“As the largest women’s shelter in the city we work diligently to move people from the crisis of homelessness to the stability of housing,” said acting executive director Kate Jackson. “Today, we’re here together to celebrate the work that Cornerstone has achieved, but also acknowledge the work that still needs to be done.”

Cornerstone currently provides supportive housing to 156 women and gender-diverse individuals, thanks to the recent opening of its fifth facility on Eccles Street. It’s been able to give a safe and secure home to 46 more women.

The organization has also relocated its emergency shelter from O’Connor Street to Carling Avenue, increasing its shelter capacity by 145 per cent from 61 beds to 150 beds.

Jackson was joined by board chair Mark Holzman, who’s retired from housing policy, research and programs at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and by Bishop Shane Parker from the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. Cornerstone is an Anglican Community Ministry. Said the religious leader: “It’s our privilege to use our organizational structure to open the doors of compassion, and to invite you and so many others in, to care for those who live precariously in our community.”

Said Holzman: “We are incredibly grateful for this community that we live in, for our volunteers, for our sponsors, for our donors, and for our advocates who are out there advocating for the needs of people who are experiencing homelessness, experiencing difficulties, and just need a little bit of help. That’s what we try to do.”

Supporters included Anna Rumin and Andrea Laurin, who, along with Katie Faught, recently raised just shy of $30,000 for Cornerstone at their annual pop-up fashion sale held at Thyme & Again’s second-floor gathering space, Nest, on Wellington Street West.

caroline@obj.ca