This past giving season, the newly annual Resident’s Night Out event proved once again to not only fill and feed our residents shopping bags and stomachs, but also their hearts.
A total of 15 guests were randomly chosen to participate in the event in December, which originates back a few years when Calgarians Adam Powell and Luke Barton decided to do something incredibly selfless – take a random shelter guest for dinner and a shopping trip.
They ended up taking George, who had the time of this life.
Sadly in October of 2016, Adam was killed in a sudden car accident a week before his 28th birthday. As the holiday season approached, his family decided to commemorate his name by continuing the act of kindness that year. The Powell family, alongside Luke and Adam’s close friends, joined with our residents and went on a shopping trip to Walmart, then to The Keg for a steak dinner.
It was a tough Christmas for their family and friends that year, according to Laurie Powell, Adam’s mother. “But it was a lovely night. It was healing for us; it was helpful for the residents – everyone had fun.”
His family expressed their desire to see the night grow and become an annual tradition; therefore, that’s what we did.
This year the event has grown to 15 residents, and Adam’s friends and family continue to make an impact in his name.
Once residents got to Walmart they were let loose! They were encouraged to buy not only things that they may need but also things they wanted.
“There were no limits,” said John, a 1010 Centre resident and newcomer to the Residents Night Out event. “They didn’t say ‘oh you can only get this, you can only get that’ – it was whatever I wanted!”
To our residents, this small act of kindness goes such a long way, but to The Mustard Seed, we are extremely honoured to host and be a part of Adam’s legacy. We are grateful to his and friends for providing such a special evening.
“What a generous man he is. It makes me so sad that he’s gone, but he still left his legacy,” said John. “He was a really thoughtful person.”
