Stone Soup Initiative
Mission, BC
Reducing Homelessness by Connecting Neighbours & Building Community
About Us
The Stone Soup Initiative is Mission’s way of tackling the problems of poverty and homelessness. Stone Soup is not an organization, but rather a way that our community has come together to make a difference. Our Stone Soup partners include non-profit agencies, businesses, faith-based organizations, clubs, government and individuals. Our work captures the power of neighbourliness so that everyone can make a difference. We promote hope, dignity and resourcefulness, and we have seen the way that people in need can become our greatest contributors. YOU ARE STONE SOUP'S GREATEST INGREDIENT!
Why Stone Soup?
It’s no secret that homelessness is a growing problem in our community. We all agree something needs to be done, but that’s where our agreement seems to end. As a result, too many communities spend their time arguing and blaming, and not enough time taking action.
After seeing a growing need for action in our community, the Stone Soup Initiative began in the fall of 2014. Inspired by the age old story of neighbours pitching in create something for everyone, Stone Soup aims to harness the power of neighbourliness with the realistic goal of reducing homelessness in Mission.
Homelessness is not a new or local problem. We often associate it with crime, mental illness & addiction, but homelessness is really about people falling through the cracks in our society. People living homeless have their own individual stories. Homelessness is much bigger than any single cause and this is why it requires a comprehensive and community-wide set of strategies.
It’s easy for us to forget that our community was not built by government, but by neighbours. Many of our community’s greatest features are the result of work done by contributors and volunteers working quietly in the background, demonstrating leadership in its truest sense. The old metaphor of Stone Soup is alive and well in Mission. The Stone Soup fable reminds us that we all have something to give and that little things add up to something much bigger. Best of all, the story teaches us that sharing is its own great reward.
Stone Soup is a simple idea, but the metaphor has captured Mission's imagination and gives us a place to direct our common passion to help.
The Stone Soup Story
Stone Soup is an ancient folk tale about a time when some people lived in villages and some people travelled to find work or food. Very, very few of them had much of anything.
One day a traveller showed up at the door of a villager and asked for food. The villager explained that he had bare cupboards and sent the traveller away. The traveller knocked on every door in the village, but one-by-one he was turned away by villagers who said they had nothing left to share.
Soon after, a villager noticed the traveller cooking over a fire near the river. He approached and asked what was in the pot.
“That’s Stone Soup,” replied the traveller.
“What on earth is Stone Soup?” asked the villager.
The traveller explained that he had a magic stone. When boiled, it produced a soup that would get him by in dire times.
“Well,” asked the villager, incredulously, “how does it taste?”
“It’s not bad,” replied the traveller, “But a carrot really makes it come together.”
“A carrot? Well, I have one of those!” And before you knew it, the villager had added an old carrot to the pot and stood there sniffing the broth.
Not long after, a steady stream of curious villagers arrived, each asking about the magical soup. Every time they asked about how it tasted, the traveller invited them to stay for a bowl, but he also suggested that the flavour would be enhanced by an onion, a potato, a few old bones and a pat of butter. In each case, the villagers found these simple ingredients in their cellars and added them to the pot.
Soon, the entire village stood around the pot, enjoying the warmth of the fire; the company of neighbours and, of course, a soup that none of them could have made without the other.
This old tale reminds us that little things become bigger things when we work together. It also reminds us of the joy of community and neighbourliness. Sometimes we don’t need a lot of money, a master chef or an elaborate recipe.
When we all work together, magic really happens.
Who We Are
(HINT: We are you!)
The Stone Soup Initiative is not an organization. We are a network of community groups and individuals working to reduce homelessness and poverty in Mission. Anyone can join in.
Our partners include:
All-Saints Anglican Church
Blackberry Kitchen
Communitas - Centennial Place Mental Health Clubhouse
District of Mission
Elks Club - Mission
Hope Central & Copper Hall
Lanka Jewels
Mission Community Services Society
Mission Division of Family Practice
Mission Downtown Business Association
Mission Friendship Centre Society
Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce
Mission Youth (M.Y.) House
New Heights Church
Riverside College
Rotary Clubs of Mission
SARA for Women
St. Andrew's United Church
St. Joseph's Food Bank
University of the Fraser Valley
Youth Unlimited
And many, many individual volunteers!
Contact The Stone Soup Initiative
c/o Mission Community Services Society
33179 2nd Ave,
Mission, BC
V2V 1J9
1-604-826-3634
