River’s Edge counselling Centre Presents….
Celebrating Resilience
THANK YOU to everyone who supported this event!
What an incredible evening we had with Tareq Hadhad Founder/CEO of Peace by Chocolate ! His family's story of resilience was inspiring and transformative to hear. His wisdom about leadership and entrepreneurship was also well received. And his call for peace could not be more timely. Tareq was deeply generous with his time, also speaking at Hillgrove School and staying late into the evening to continue the conversation and sign books for our guests. The Jessica McMann trio, with Connor Chee Piano and Holly Bhattacharya, opened the event and endeared the audience to them with their remarkable musical talent and Jessica's skilled storytelling.
Hazel McKennitt, an indigenous knowledge keeper, helped us start the event in a good way, by offering a blessing. MLA MarieRenaud and Deputy Mayor Wes Brodhead also welcomed our honoured guests to St. Albert. Carmen Leibel, our emcee, helped the event run smoothly and expertly facilitated the Q&A with Tareq.
Proceeds from ticket sales went to the St. Albert Community Village Foodbank. River's Edge Counselling also gifted a Peace by Chocolate bar to everyone who made a monetary donation at the event. By the end of Tareq's talk, many people were motivated both by a craving for chocolate and an impulse to be generous :)
Why did River’s Edge Counselling host this event?
Nicole Imgrund, Owner/Director
An interesting phenomenon when you are a therapist is how people react when you tell them what you do for a living. In my experience, most people will immediately show concern and empathy for how challenging it must be to hear people’s stories. Stories that often include trauma, grief and suffering.
In the past couple of decades, there has been a growing recognition of secondary trauma, and it’s been helpful for anyone working in a helping profession to be wary of the adverse effects of being exposed to trauma over time, including the potential for burnout and compassion fatigue.
However, as humans, we are literally built for connection. Our well-being is integrally tied to the well-being of others. And so there is another phenomenon that brings a balance to this equation. It is secondary resilience.
Secondary resilience highlights the ways that listening to other people’s stories, holding space for them with curiosity and compassion, can be transformative. Stories of resilience, the ability to stand up again after life pushes you down, can bring us hope in our own troubled lives. We can learn from the creativity and wisdom that people of all ages, all cultures, and all backgrounds, can find when they need it most.
As therapists, we have so many opportunities to witness resilience. It’s such a gift. After 25 years, I still have such a sense of awe and gratitude for this work. So much of our work is helping people to access tools and find evidence of resilience in their own stories. Tonight, our simple hope was a create space with you to listen, with curiosity and compassion, to some diverse expressions of resilience - through storytelling and music.
We hope it will inspire all of us, as we know it can, to grow our own resilience and find ways to support others on that journey.
In the News….
See Article: https://www.stalbertgazette.com/lifestyle/peace-advocate-tareq-hadhad-speaks-at-arden-theatre-7729709
About Tareq Hadhad
A Story of Resiliency Through Adversity…
Join Tareq Hadhad on an emotional journey from Syria to Canada with heartbreaking and perspective shaping stops along the way.
From sunny days in Syria where the scent of roses filled the air to the beginning of conflict and war.
Listen as Tareq shares the fear and confusion that came when violence and danger begin to slowly surround his family. Understand what it is really like to spend days hiding in your basement, praying for safety and food and medicine.
Learn how a family made the decision to leave everything behind in search of safety outside of their homeland only to find more uncertainty and desperation as refugees in Lebanon. Witness the life changing impact of being granted a family ticket to Canada and watch as that country's Prime Minister singles out the Hadhad family and their community for its perseverance and kindness.
Passionate about peace and entrepreneurship, Tareq's family relaunched the family business in Canada to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East. An award winning feature film, Peace by Chocolate, turned the family story into an international inspiring phenomenon.
Hearing Tareq share his story will leave you feeling inspired and resolved to make your own impact on the world!
Jessica McMann Trio
The Jessica McMann Trio is the instrumental musical project of Jessica McMann. Joining her for this event will be musicians Holly Battacharya (Violin/Viola) and Connor Chee (Piano).
Jessica works with diverse musicians to elevate Indigenous music and other classical favourites. She likes to share lesser-known repertoire based around themes of ecology, spirituality, and language recovery. Jessica brings engaging and personable dialogue while sharing information about the pieces allows the audience to connect through music and centering Indigenous voices.
Join us to hear original compositions by Jessica McMann including selections from her award-winning album "Incandescent Tales" and an advance listen to music from her project: Prairie Dusk which will be released October 29th, 2023.
Read more about Jessica McMann and her accompanying artists, Connor Chee and Holly Bhattacharya.
Event Emcee
Carmen Leibel
Carmen Leibel is a proud member of the St. Albert community where she has lived for many years with her husband Jared and two daughters.
Carmen is a local entrepreneur who recently launched her new business, Project Five! (www.projectfive.ca) As a former broadcast journalist, Carmen created Project Five with five simple steps to help students of all ages feel more comfortable and confident speaking in front of others. (Such an important soft skill to learn!) This fall Project Five will be in a number of Edmonton and area schools, organizations and communities with public speaking programs for elementary, junior high, high school and post-secondary aged students.
Before taking on her new role as a business owner, Carmen worked as a broadcast journalist for a total of 16 years as an anchor, reporter and producer. Her most recent position was anchoring CTV News Edmonton at Five for 7 years.
Event Sponsors
Bloom Stone Floral and Gifts
This Event is also generously supported by:
Celebrating Resilience Pre-Event
The recording is now available!
Watch this recorded talk to learn about resilience and how you can develop it in your own life. Parents will also learn how they can help their children to become more resilient. Our presenter, Sabrina Roach, makes connections between resilience and the inspiring story of the Hadhad family, featured in Tareq's book and the award-winning film Peace by Chocolate movie.