Sierra Noble breaks into tears, talks about food bank helping her family
Sierra Noble has worked hard to become a successful musician but said it's nothing compared to what her mom has done.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter and fiddle player broke into tears Friday during a benefit for Winnipeg Harvest food bank.
Noble, whose success has taken her around the world and allowed her to share a stage with musical greats like Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney, performed in the CBC Manitoba studio as part of the annual Harvesting Hope charity drive.
The singer-songwriter learned the night before that Winnipeg's food bank greatly helped her own family.
She was telling her mom about the upcoming benefit and how she has always felt connected to Winnipeg Harvest and wanted to lend a hand to the agency. That's when her mom revealed the family, shortly after moving to Winnipeg from Ottawa in 1990, was struggling and turned to the food bank for a hamper — a collection of food and other necessities.
"She said she doesn't know what she would have done without that — and how much it meant to her," Noble said, her words trembling.
"I had no idea."
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Noble said her mom was a single parent who moved to Winnipeg with three daughters. At the time, Noble was the youngest and only a few months old.
"She was on her own with three kids in a new city. [She] really didn't know anybody and didn't have a lot and didn't have any work yet," Noble said. "I can't imagine how hard it was for her."
CBC's Harvesting Hope is a day-long fundraiser that features inspiring stories of both hardship and cheer. Noble's story was an unplanned one that even caught herself by surprise.
It left her wiping away a lot of tears for some performances and also left CBC host Marcy Markusa and Winnipeg Harvest executive director David Northcott in much the same predicament.
"Thank-you, David, for everything that you do and to everyone who donates to Harvest," Noble said.
"It's not always people who have messed up in life [that need help], it's just … we're people and we're doing our best."
Tune in to CBC Radio One 89.3 FM, CBC Winnipeg News at 6 p.m. CT and CBC.ca/Manitoba Friday to hear musical performances and stories of those in need as part of Harvesting Hope.
Monetary donations will be accepted via the toll-free phone line until 8 p.m. CT on Friday. Online donations can continue through the weekend until Sunday night.
To donate, call toll free 1-800-949-8323 or donate online at Winnipeg Harvest (select Harvesting Hope Radiothon in the drop-down menu).