President of The Royal and fiancé turning wedding into fundraiser for Ottawa Mission

Everyone loves a romantic story and one with purpose is even better.

A celebration of love in the nation’s capital is turning into a chance to support a good cause.

Cara Vaccarino, the president and CEO of the Royal Ottawa, and her fiancé Brian Bohunicky, a public policy expert, have launched a $100,000 fundraiser for the Ottawa Mission ahead of their June wedding.

The couple spoke to CTV Your Morning Ottawa on Friday about the “Two Hearts, One Mission” campaign and about their love story.

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“We met online, on a dating app,” Bohunicky said. “Cara pinged me first and so, of course, I texted back right away. And then, three days passed, and nothing. Then she did text, and I texted back, and then another three days passed. It turns out she was kind of busy.”

Vaccarino said she matched with Bohunicky just as she was moving to Ottawa to take on her new role as president and CEO of The Royal in 2024. The pair eventually did go on a date, which led to another, and another, before Bohunicky popped the question while on vacation in Spain.

“We’d both been single for a really long time, and in and out of relationships, so when we found each other at this stage of middle life, it was pretty exciting,” Vaccarino said. “We hope that our fundraiser will really give hope and inspire others that love is possible at any age. And we’ve heard from a lot of people it’s giving them hope.”

Vaccarino is on the Ottawa Mission’s board of directors and said she wanted to do something to support the organization. Bohunicky said the idea of raising funds through donations was a “no-brainer” for the couple.

“We’re not kids. We’ve got all the stuff we need… and it was a no-brainer to support the Mission. Cara’s on the board and it’s an inspiring organization that’s helping people get a fresh start every day. Then, the inspiration kind of grew and we thought, ‘why don’t we make a whole campaign out it?’”

The Ottawa Mission will play a central role in the wedding, as well, Vaccarino said.

“Chef Ric (Watson), who is well known across the community, will be catering the event and Chaplain Dave (Kornelsen) at the Mission will be performing the ceremony. It really is meant to be an inspiring community event that’s really going to lift up people that are experiencing homelessness across our city when they need help more than ever,” she said.

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Bohunicky said the pair wants to inspire the community to share what good fortune they have.

“The people who will be at our wedding, I think we’re all pretty fortunate in many different ways,” he said. “The main difference between us and the people the Mission serves is that good luck. So, we want to inspire the community to share and expand on good feelings about romance and marriage and our new beginning and help others get a new beginning, too.”

Anyone can donate to the campaign, the pair says, by visiting the Mission’s website.