TORONTO — Covenant House Toronto chair Suzanne Rogers and celebrity chef Jonathan Collins visited Le Neuf Café last Friday to help raise money for the Servings of Hope fundraising campaign.
Servings of Hope aims to raise funds for and awareness of Covenant House’s anti-sex-trafficking efforts. Toronto police have identified Toronto as a hub for sex trafficking, with local victims — mostly girls aged 13 to 17 — estimated to be in the thousands.
“Like many people, I was unaware that sex trafficking was a major problem in our own community. It is intolerable that this is happening right here and I believe we are compelled to take action,” says Rogers.
Driven to help make a difference, Le Neuf Café owner Fouzia Boukantar and long-time Covenant House supporter Leo Slocombe — with friends, Anna S. Wong and Marc Becquey — came together to organize last week’s event, the second of its kind. Roughly two dozen guests were in attendance, purchasing $200 per plate dinners to raise $7,500. The two events have collected a total of $12,500 towards Covenant House’s goal of $20,000 by September.
“We’re finding once people recognize this terrible crime is happening to girls here in our city, they are more than willing to help,” says Boukantar. “We were honoured to have the support of Suzanne Rogers and we hope to inspire other Toronto restaurants to get involved in this way.”
Servings of Hope’s next fundraiser dinner will be held at Stori Aperitivo Bar on September 15, where Jonathan Collins will once again share his culinary talent.
Restaurateurs interested in contributing to Covenant House’s efforts can host their own Serving of Hope event or donate the proceeds from one table per night at their restaurants.
