OttaWu: Wu-Tang donation to Ottawa Food Bank spawns new fundraiser 'A Better Tomorrow'

Creating A Better Tomorrow Ottawa Mission Executive Director Sean Wong and Mustafa Shaikh from 36 Chambers join us with details on a new project to give back.

OTTAWA — On April 2, a donation to the Ottawa Food Bank by American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan brought in a flood of donations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within a day, $170,000 was raised.

The tweet would go on to help the campaign raise more than $280,000.

Now, a clothing and lifestyle brand co-founded by legendary Wu-Tang producer RZA and Mustafa Shaikh called 36 Chambers is offering products in support of the Ottawa Food Bank and other causes in the region through a campaign called "A Better Tomorrow."

The campaign was revealed on CTV Morning Live, Wednesday.

"Whether it's through music, or our actions, the purpose of 36 Chambers and Wu-Tang, is to always see a better tomorrow. In collaboration with Mayor Jim Watson and the City of Ottawa, 36 Chambers is releasing the A Better Tomorrow Collection: three products that collectively will benefit the Ottawa Food Bank, Ottawa Mission and CHEO," a statement on the campaign's website reads.

Three products are available. The first is a t-shirt featuring the Wu-Tang logo with the word "Ottawa" inside. 100 per cent of the profits go to the Ottawa Food Bank.

The second item is a plant-based, vegan hand sanitizer called "Protect Ya Hands", made by Canadian company Jusu. For every bottle sold, a bottle will be donated to the Ottawa Mission Foundation and other homeless shelters in Canada. Additional profits will also be donated to the shelters, 36 Chambers says.

The third product is a partnership with Pure Kitchen. 100 per cent of the profits from the "Saga Continues Bowl" will be go to meals for front-line workers at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario who have been assigned to long-term care facilities.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson wore his shirt to work Wednesday.

The campaign is expected to run for a month.

Shaikh tells CTV Morning Live they didn't expect the initial tweet in April would become such a big deal.

"We have a buddy in Ottawa, Adam Miron, and when the whole food drive thing was happening he reached out to see if we could get George Stroumboulopoulos to retweet the food drive because he knows we have a good relationship. Instead, we just hopped on an internal Wu call and decided to make a donation ourselves and share the message," he said. "We didn't think it was going to become as big of a deal as it became. It was inspiring to us just how many people from Ottawa responded to it. That inspired us to work with the City of Ottawa to raise more funds and release the Better Tomorrow collection. It was great for RZA to give his blessing."

Sean Wong, the Executive Director Ottawa Mission, tells CTV Morning Live the help means a lot.

"It's huge," he said. "The Mission has been serving Ottawa since 1906. We've been through the Spanish Flu, we've been through the Great Depression. This is really a moment and the campaign couldn't be better titled, 'A Better Tomorrow.' The people who come to the Mission each and every day, that's what they're hoping for and the products the funds that come in because of this will certainly help people who live on the street navigate this crisis."

You can find more about each item at https://ottawa.36chambers.com/