Dear Pause Table participants… Thank you so much for all you did to again make the recent Carleton Pause Tables a success. Please give me any feedback you might have to make the event better in December. There were about 500 students each of the three days. Put December 8-11 in your Calendars as the next opportunity! Starting at 10:00 each day instead of 10:30 was also a common recommendation.
A special thanks to Michelle Baulch and her team from the Student Wellness Office for the coffee, hot chocolate and clean-up/set-up logistics, and to Beth Hughes for arranging free parking, and to student helpers Ali Abjou, Stephon Farrow, and Asmaa Alsalman for even driving people to distant parking lots and back!
Thanks also to Colin Cordner and other members/chaplains of the Carleton Spirituality Centre for storing some equipment and participating basically every day!
Best wishes to the Ottawa Food Pantry, which received some of our left-over food (though there was not much!)
Our very best wishes also to University Of Ottawa, as that institution is also attempting to get a version of “Pause Tables” off the ground. Let me know if you want to contact UofO in order to volunteer there instead of (or in addition to) Carleton. I’m happy to connect you.
I am attaching a slightly revised version of the “Base Document” based on feedback already received (removed “hummus”, for example, adding start time of 10:00 instead of 10:30, and the addition of a personalized card ministry!!). Please disseminate the Base Document far and wide to churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and faith communities in general! Visit them in person, bringing the document.
Also attaching some student thank you cards received! This was partly in response to the brand new “Card Ministry” started by St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church. It was highly successful. Students were genuinely touched to receive personalized hand-written cards encouraging them during their exam period. Please note: Any faith group can work on this idea from now right up till December!!! If your community writes one or two cards a week from now till November, we will have a ton of cards to hand out!! No need to make it a crunch time, last-minute thing!
Sincerely, Nick Overduin, Carleton University Pause Table Coordinator
p.s. We are researching purchasing some permanent equipment, e.g. an industrial bagel toaster, a bagel cutter, a possible air fryer, a dolly or wagon, electric cords, etc. If you want to contribute money, let me know… the bigger issue is actually safe and continuous storage in between semester/split events.