Our Founders

Joan Gullen was a social change maker and community activist who helped found the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, Interval House, Immigrant Women’s Services Ottawa and The Snowsuit Fund. 

Born in Brampton, Ontario, Joan was raised in a destitute family during the Great Depression. Her father died when she was just nine, leaving her mother as the breadwinner struggling to feed her children, let alone keep them warmly bundled during the winter. 

Childhood poverty was germane to Joan’s lifelong commitment to social justice and equity, including her passion for the Snowsuit Fund. 

Joan died in 2022 at the age of 92.

Ralph Tannis, best known as the owner of Ottawa’s iconic Fat Albert’s chain of pizza and sub restaurants, is the Fund’s other co-founder.

Ralph grew up in Ottawa in the 1940s and ‘50s. While his family wasn’t impoverished, his mother, at one point, became a struggling single parent, and Ralph and his three siblings spent a winter without adequate outdoor clothing. Years later, when he learned how many Ottawa children had no snowsuits, the news resonated on a deeply personal level, and he quickly joined forces with Joan. 

A go-getter with a flair for promoting ideas and instilling commitment among others, he was a lifelong supporter of community causes including REACH. 

Ralph was 79 when he died earlier this year.

Other early contributors to the creation and growth of The Snowsuit Fund in response to growing community need include Geoff Cooke, a local businessman, and Ervin Budge, founder of Broken Cue Billiards Centres and coordinator of The Snowsuit Fund’s first fundraising gala, “Millionaire’s Night Out.”

When the fund launched in 1982, the Ottawa Citizen reported that at least 1,000 children needed outdoor wear that winter.

Since then, the need has exploded thanks to a growing population, the fund’s response to multiple refugee crises, and economic challenges like inflation. We now distribute nearly 17,000 snowsuits yearly to the most marginalized in our community, regardless of race, religion, or family structure. 

The Snowsuit Fund is now an integral part of Ottawa’s support network, and the generosity of its donors keeps countless children warm during Ottawa’s often-bitter winters.

For that, we all thank Joan, Ralph, Geoff and Ervin.