Canadian Living salutes: Wendy Walters

One perfect afternoon last June, Wendy Walters and her husband, Dave, took a rare stroll through Ottawa's ByWard Market, browsing the booths filled with fresh fruits and veggies and colourful crafts. There was a hint of summer in the air, and Wendy was delighting in the sights, sounds and scents of the market. But her happy mood dissolved when she saw the street kids.

Identifying the need
Huddled in small groups under an overpass at the edge of the market, about 30 kids sat quietly on the concrete, asking for spare change. Clad in dirty jeans and T-shirts, and obviously needing a hot shower, they looked like teens you wouldn't want to mess with.

"I was shocked, overwhelmed, speechless," says 37-year-old Wendy, a resident of the nearby suburb of Stittsville. "A lot of people passing by tried to avoid eye contact with the kids," she says. But Wendy, who volunteers at her daughters' school, did look them in the eye and, beyond the tough facade, saw glimmers of vulnerability. "Underneath it all, they were just kids who needed help," she says.

"I looked at them and I thought of my own girls. If for some reason my daughters ended up on the street, I would like to think that someone would care enough to help them." That's when the inspiration -- like a divine intervention -- hit. "It was impromptu -- I decided to fill a backpack with necessities and give it to a needy street kid," says Wendy.

Angels with Backpacks
Once home, she broached the idea to her daughters, Hayley, 9, and Charlotte, 7. "Their eyes popped open. They wanted to do it, too," says Wendy. They even offered to chip in their allowance. "I was thrilled -- I wasn't expecting them to be so excited. I was a proud mom," she says, "proud of my angels." So, right then, the project was named Angels with Backpacks.

After buying a backpack and a fleece blanket, the trio set off to the local dollar store where Wendy encouraged her daughters to decide which items would be most needed. "I asked them if everything they owned had to fit in a backpack, what would those things be? Charlotte said ‘bubblegum.' I asked her if she could live without bubblegum and she said no," says Wendy with a laugh. That got the girls thinking about just what a true necessity is. "They caught on quickly," she says.

Walking up and down the aisles, Hayley and Charlotte picked out about 30 things, such as a deck of cards, eating utensils, a flashlight, granola bars, a
hat and mitts, juice boxes, soap and shampoo, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, a washcloth and, yes, gum. While Hayley made her choices, she says, "I tried to think of things that the kids would need every day."