Friends and family of late Ennismore resident Erin Sullivan are coming together again to honour her memory by way of a kitchen party concert that supports people coming out of homelessness.
Called “Erin’s House II,” the second annual fundraising event will take place at the Ennismore Community Centre at 553 Ennis Road from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, March 14 — the day after what would have been Sullivan’s 46th birthday.
“Erin was a great dancer,” says co-organizer Joanne Rowland. “She always danced — anywhere we went, she just danced — so the kitchen party made sense.”
Hosted by Megan Murphy, the kitchen party will offer music performed by Kate Suhr, Kate Brioux, Paul Crough, and Melissa Payne, and will also feature a silent auction and a cash bar. Tickets are priced at $25, with proceeds going towards paying off the mortgage of The Erin Sullivan House — a house named in Sullivan’s honour that is owned and managed by One City Peterborough.
On October 23, 2022, Sullivan passed away of cystic fibrosis at 43 years old. A recipient of a double lung transplant, Sullivan spent a lot of time in the hospital, though that didn’t stop her from spending much of the last decade of her life volunteering her time to the community.
“We went to Silver Bean one day and I remember Erin saying ‘If I had lots of money, I’d just buy houses for people’,” says Jane Wilson, another friend of the Sullivan family and co-organizer of the event. “That’s the kind of person she was.”
VIDEO: “Shelf Life” – A profile of Erin Sullivan by Megan Murphy
Rowland, too, recalls fondly Sullivan’s dedication to the community while they volunteered together at One Roof, a now-defunct daily meal program in Peterborough.
“She was a tireless supporter of the downtown people,” Rowland says. “She always knew everybody by name, made everybody feel very welcome, and made them feel important. She just had an amazing knack for seeing people — really seeing people.”
“We knew she had some tough times with her cystic fibrosis, but she’d be ill and then come back from that brink and continue her work. It was just always astounding the energy she found for others, when you knew part of the time she wasn’t feeling that well herself.”
Given Sullivan’s drive to support the community, it makes sense that her friends and family would approach One City Peterborough when she passed away. Alongside offering other programs, the organization owns homes and works with private landlords and other agencies to create affordable housing options for those experiencing homelessness in Peterborough.
Thanks to Sullivan’s friends and family, one of the four-bedroom houses that has been managed by One City since 2020 is now called The Erin Sullivan House (or “Erin’s House”). There are currently four long-term residents living in the home, and Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) recently partnered with One City to build a 400-foot-square additional rental unit in the backyard.
“We really just wanted her name to be continued and have something to honour her,” says Rowland.
With the assistance of a $225,000 anonymous donation, the home was purchased in November 2023 through engagement in a vendor take-back mortgage with the previous owner. A further $78,731 has already been donated by friends and family, and the goal is to raise the remaining mortgage balance of $146,268.
Last year’s inaugural kitchen party raised $12,000 towards the cause and, with this year’s event being held in a larger venue, the hope is to raise even more. The event organizers are still looking for sponsors so they can lighten the operational costs and donate as much as possible towards Erin’s House.
Among the items that will be up for bid during this year’s silent auction include gift certificates to local eateries including Silver Bean Café and Copper Spoon, handcrafted jewellery from Valerie Davidson Jewellery, tickets to 4th Line Theatre, goods from Millbrook Valley Chocolates, and pottery from Wilson herself.
“We made a lot on the silent auction,” says Rowland of last year’s event. “People were very generous with that, so we’ll have a lot of items there.”
Beyond raising money, Rowland says the hope is for community members to come together for a cause that Sullivan herself would have supported, while also remembering her by having some fun.
“There were lots of stories about Erin (last year),” says Rowland. “It just felt it like a love-in for Erin … when someone passes away, this is what we want — to keep mentioning the person’s name, keep talking about them, keep their memory alive in the community. It sure felt like that last year, and I’m sure it will be the same this year. It was just a really fun event with lots of stories and lots of laughter.”
During the March 14 event, which is sponsored in part by Sherbrooke Animal Hospital, there will be an opportunity to see a plaque in Sullivan’s name that will soon be installed inside of Erin’s House. It reads: “Light to you always.”
“That’s really what she stood for,” says Rowland. “Light and love.”
Rowland and Wilson are both sure this is an event that Sullivan herself would have enjoyed.
“She was such a delight and she was such a positive person,” says Wilson. “This event reminds everybody of her wonderful life, and she would just love the project. She would just be gassed. She wouldn’t believe it.”
Tickets for the Erin’s House II kitchen party fundraiser can be purchased at the door for $25 or in advance by sending an e-transfer to Rowland at joannerowland@gmail.com. Those interested in sponsoring the March 14 event can also email Rowland.
To make a direct donation to Erin’s House, visit canadahelps.org/en/charities/onecityptbo/campaign/erin-sullivan-house/.
