Sheryl interviewing Damian from The Kettle Society 

Last week, CBC’s North by Northwest Radio Host, Sheryl MacKay visited The Kettle Society, a mental health not for profit, to report on the new Kettle Choir, a historic collaboration between Vancouver Opera and The Kettle.

The choir features the voices and stories of Kettle members who have personally experienced homelessness and/or mental illness. Sheryl sat down with a member from the Vancouver Opera, The Kettle, and Geof, a member of the choir and resident at Kettle on Burrard. Each of them shared their thoughts on the choir’s impact and what the program means to them. So far, they have noticed amazing transformations since they began singing together every Monday. Kettle members who were once shy and quiet, are now singing at the top of their lungs, and are more confident than ever before.

The choir is currently working towards Requiem for a Lost Girl, a raw, heartfelt chamber production, which is set to be performed next year at the Vancouver Opera Festival. Requiem for a Lost Girl tells the story of a young girl who lost her life to streets, and explores themes of poverty, mental illness, and addiction, subjects that Kettle members can intimately relate too.

Link to full interview here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/programs/northbynorthwest/sunday-june-11-1.4155849

We are thrilled to be working with The Kettle on this project and will be attending The Kettle’s upcoming Making a Difference Evening on June 15, where the Kettle Choir will perform a special song. Show your support and buy a ticket to this inspiring event. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-kettle-making-a-difference-evening-tickets-33836205000

Elettra Communications attended a special Gala event at the weekend at The Kettle Society’s new supported-housing building located at 1134 Burrard Street.

The Kettle Making a Difference – An Evening with Olympian Clara Hughes and Friends, was a special fundraising event to raise funds for The Kettle Society’s community mental health programs and celebrate Clara’s inspiring 12,000km bike ride across Canada to build awareness and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.  The Kettle had been chosen as Vancouver’s “community champion” for the ride.

Kari Adams from CTV emceed the event and CTV broadcast live weather forecasts and interviews from the VIP reception.

Speakers included: Deputy Mayor Adriane Carr; Debra McPherson, President of the BC Nurses Union; Daniel Boffo from Boffo Properties; Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk; Brenda Lea Brown, Chair of the Kettle board; and Kettle member Denis Piper.

Six-time Olympian Clara Hughes took time out of her grueling and physically challenging schedule to address guests and VIPs and deliver an emotional and inspiring keynote speech which touched on her own experiences with mental illness.

Earlier this year, we met with the team from The Kettle Society to talk about their Facebook page.  Together we all brainstormed some ways they could build a stronger page, engage their existing audience, and gain new followers that would find their page helpful and interesting.

Since then, they’ve done an awesome job with their updating their page regularly and posting valuable content related to their services, events, news, and topics important to their organization.

Head to their Facebook page  to learn more about the society and the great work they do!