Serving Ottawa & nearby Ontario communities|Vulnerable sector screened & fully insured|Gift certificates available|613-227-3633
Heartful Abilities
Where creativity, connection & community meet

Meaningful experiences,
crafted with heart.

We design and deliver guided creative arts, culinary and life-skills programs for organizations and communities across Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Every program is fully prepared, thoughtfully adapted to the people in the room, and built to leave something lasting: a new skill, a finished piece, or the confidence to keep going.

Explore Our ProgramsBook Now
Darlene Valentine, founder of Heartful Abilities, smiling
Heartful Abilities heart logo
Darlene ValentineFounder & Community Builder
35+ yearsServing our community
20+ yearsIn developmental services
We come to youEverything provided
Every abilityAdapted for every group
Proud to work alongside our community
Silver Spring StudioVenvi StonehavenTown of ArnpriorOttawa Family Support NetworkThe Well Café
Three ways we serve

Programs built around the people in the room.

Choose the pathway that fits your group. Each one is designed with purpose, delivered with care and adapted to every ability.

01

Heartful Connections

Adults with developmental disabilities

Skill-building programs with real substance: start a business, cook with confidence, create with pride.

Explore Connections →
02

Heartful Moments

Seniors & retirement living

Healthy cooking, creative connection and gentle support through life’s transitions.

Explore Moments →
03

Heartful Community

Everyone · groups & workplaces

Signature creative gatherings for friends, workplaces and faith communities.

Explore Community →
01
Heartful Connections · For adults with developmental disabilities

Build your confidence.
Build your path for 2027.

Programs with real substance and real outcomes: practical skills, meaningful work and a stronger place in the community. Where there is a need, we build the program to meet it.

Start Your Own Business program
Flagship program

Start Your Own Business

A realistic, step-by-step program for adults who want to turn what they love into a small business that is truly theirs. Taught from lived experience: Heartful Abilities was built from the ground up, and every step is shared with you.

  • Earn up to $1,000 a month in profit with no reduction to ODSP income support
  • Plan it realistically, then build your own website
  • Video yourself and promote on social media
  • Sell and take bookings online
  • Network with other entrepreneurs in our community
Format9 small-group sessions
Group size5 people
Learn About the Program
Weekly series · Starting January 2027

New Year, Less Pressure.
(Except Inside the Pot.)

A practical cooking series that builds real independence in the kitchen, one meal at a time.

  • Plan a simple, healthy meal
  • Follow a visual step-by-step recipe card
  • Use a pressure cooker safely and confidently
  • Cook, share and clean up as a team
Life skills · Culinary

Pressure cooker life-skills series

Each week participants cook a complete, nourishing meal from start to finish. The pressure cooker makes it safer and simpler: no open flame, one pot and reliable results. That means more time for learning and more meals people can make again at home.

  • Independence: skills that carry into everyday life at home
  • Confidence: a finished meal to be proud of, every week
  • Connection: cooking and eating together as a group
  • Gift certificates available: a meaningful holiday gift from family
Buy the 4-Class SeriesSee our recipes
Jewelry art piece created in a Heartful Abilities session
Creative arts

Art programs that build skills and pride

Guided jewelry and button art, painting, seasonal and evergreen projects, adapted to every ability. Each project strengthens fine motor skills, focus and follow-through, and ends with something people are proud to show.

  • For day programs, group homes and community agencies
  • All materials supplied, with step-by-step instruction cards
  • Custom programs: tell us your group’s goals and we’ll design around them
Explore Heartful ConnectionsBrowse the activity menu

Passport funding may apply. One-on-one visits are also available for individuals and group homes.

All Connections Programs
02
Heartful Moments · For seniors & retirement living

Living well,
at every stage of life.

For retirement residences, 50+ buildings and seniors’ centres: healthy cooking, creative connection and compassionate support through life’s biggest changes.

Heartful Passages

Support for life’s transitions

A guided series for residents navigating change, each session pairing gentle conversation with a meaningful keepsake.

  • Retirement and finding new purpose
  • Leaving a home and moving
  • When a partner is living with dementia
  • The loss of a partner
  • Supper & Story: a hands-on shared meal
Grief & transition

Heartful Passages

Moving into retirement living, caring for a partner with dementia or losing a spouse can leave people quietly carrying a great deal. Heartful Passages gives residents a warm, structured space to share, remember and create, and helps residences offer real support alongside their recreation calendar.

  • Two keepsake choices for each theme
  • Designed with residence staff; counsellor-supported where needed
  • Affordable packages for residences
Bring Heartful Passages to Your ResidenceHeartful Memories keepsakes
Soups made in the pressure cooker meal seriesSoups Apple butter made in the pressure cooker meal seriesApple Butter Everyday quick pressure cooker mealsEveryday Quick Uses
12-month series

The Pressure Cooker Meal Series

One hands-on cooking session each month for a full year, brought to your residence, condo social room or community centre. Residents cook together, taste together and take home large-print recipe cards.

  • Healthier eating: fresh, whole ingredients with less salt and sugar than prepared foods
  • Cooking for one or two: small batches, easy freezer portions and less waste
  • Safer and simpler: no open flame, built-in safety features, one pot to clean
  • Connection: a monthly gathering residents look forward to
Bring the Series to Your ResidenceHeartful Kitchen recipes
Weekly series · Starting January 2027

New Year, New Gear.

Got a pressure cooker for the holidays, or one still sitting in the box? This is the series to learn it, love it and use it every week.

  • Unbox it and set it up with confidence
  • Soups, stews, grains and one-pot dinners
  • Batch cooking and freezing for one or two
  • Recipe cards to keep for every class
New for 2027

New Year, New Gear

A weekly series for seniors who want to eat well and keep cooking independently. Small groups, a patient pace and plenty of tasting along the way.

  • Hands-on in small groups, adapted for dexterity and memory
  • Gift certificates available: a thoughtful holiday gift for a parent or grandparent
Buy the 4-Class SeriesBuy a gift certificate

Also available: seasonal and holiday creative sessions for residents, and one-on-one visits.

All Moments Programs
03
Heartful Community · For everyone

Create, connect
and gather together.

Signature experiences for friends, workplaces, faith communities and public groups: hands-on, beautifully prepared and ending around a shared table.

Loving Hearts jewelry art piece
Signature experience

Jewelry Art & Pressure Cooker Lunch

Two experiences in one. Create a framed jewelry art keepsake from vintage pieces, costume jewelry, pearls and crystals, then gather for a pressure cooker cooking demonstration and a fresh lunch together.

  • Everything supplied: frame, design, jewelry, tools and lunch
  • Ideal for team days, celebrations, church groups and friends
  • Relaxed, guided and welcoming to first-time makers
  • Gift certificates available
Next public dateBling It On! · Sat, Nov 7
Private groupsBooked on request
Reserve for Nov 7Book a private group
Weekly series · Starting January 2027

New Year, Same Lazy Cook.

Good food without the fuss. For busy people who want to eat better without spending their evenings in the kitchen.

  • Dump-and-go dinners for weeknights
  • Batch cooking for the week ahead
  • Healthy soups, grains and one-pot meals
  • Take-home recipe cards every class
New for 2027

New Year, Same Lazy Cook

Keep the resolution to eat better without changing who you are. Each week you’ll learn a few reliable meals that practically cook themselves, and taste them together before you go.

  • Hands-on, friendly and beginner-friendly
  • Gift certificates available: a gift that keeps giving all year
Buy the 4-Class SeriesBuy a gift certificate
Pink vintage jewelry art holiday tree in a silver frame
In person & online

Jewelry Art Classes & Kits

Join a live class on Zoom with a kit mailed to your door, gather a group for a private session, or order a kit to make at your own pace.

  • Holiday Jewelry Art Series, live on Zoom
  • Custom designs: hearts, angels, trees, flowers, animals and more
See Heartful ClassesOrder a kit

Honouring a loved one? Heartful Memories creates keepsakes from the jewelry and treasures they left behind.

Visit Heartful Memories
How it works

Simple to book. Fully taken care of.

1

Connect

A short conversation about your group, your goals and the people you serve.

2

We design

We tailor the program to your group’s abilities, interests and schedule.

3

We bring everything

Materials, kits, cooking equipment and step-by-step cards arrive with us.

4

Create & connect

A fully guided experience, and we follow up to plan what comes next.

January 2027 · Weekly cooking series

Three series, one fresh start.

Start the year with a weekly pressure cooker series designed for you. Venues will be announced when registration opens.

Heartful Connections

New Year, Less Pressure

(Well, except in the pot.)

Life skills and kitchen independence for adults with developmental disabilities.

Heartful Moments

New Year, New Gear

(That you actually know how to use.)

Healthy cooking for one or two, at a comfortable pace for seniors.

Heartful Community

New Year, Same Lazy Cook

(Come learn how to press three buttons and pretend you spent all day slaving over a hot stove.)

Easy weeknight meals and batch cooking for busy people.

Give a fresh start this holiday season. Gift certificates are available for every series.

In collaboration with community partners including Silver Spring Studio, Venvi Stonehaven and the Seniors Active Living Centre in Arnprior.

Buy a Series or Gift Certificate
Give the gift of an experience

Gift certificates available.

Give someone a new skill, a creative evening or a fresh start in the kitchen. Gift certificates match our class prices ($55 for a 5 x 5, $65 for a 5 x 7 or $75 for an 8 x 10, plus 4-class pressure cooker series packages at $150 and all four holiday jewelry art classes with kits at $199) and are available online. Packages can be given as gifts too, with a printable certificate included. All make a thoughtful holiday gift for parents, grandparents, friends and colleagues.

Your choice of delivery: a digital certificate is emailed to you right after purchase, ready to print or forward. Prefer a printed certificate mailed to you or the recipient? Just email darlene@heartfulabilities.com with the mailing address.

Order a Gift CertificateOr call 613-227-3633
Upcoming events

Where to find us this season.

SaturdayNov 7

Bling It On!

Jewelry art and a pressure cooker morning with lunch, 9:30 am–1 pm at Silver Spring Studio, 1705 Robertson Rd., Ottawa. Reserve your spot

TuesdayNov 24

OFSN Speed Networking Evening

Featured service provider at the Ottawa Family Support Network’s evening for families and caregivers, 6:30–8:40 pm. Beaverbrook Centre, 1002 Beaverbrook Rd, Kanata.

SaturdayNov 28

Deck the Halls with Darlene

Make a holiday wreath or outdoor urn arrangement, 1–4 pm at The Well Café, 111 Church St., Almonte. Free; please bring a food item for the Lanark County Interval House pantry. Reserve your free spot

WednesdayDec 2

Christmas Event at Venvi Stonehaven

Come say hello, 2–4 pm at Venvi Stonehaven, 70 Stonehaven Dr., Kanata, ON K2M 3B4.

FridayDec 11

Holiday Wreath Making in Arnprior

Leading a holiday wreath making session with the Town of Arnprior’s Older Adults Club, 1–3 pm.

Featured classes

Flyer: Holiday Jewelry Art live on Zoom, four Tuesday classes from November 10 to December 1, 7:00 to 8:30 pm Eastern, $55 per class with kit or $199 for all four
Tuesdays · Nov 10 – Dec 1 · Online

Holiday Jewelry Art, live on Zoom

Four evenings, four framed 5×5 keepsakes: Snowman, Holiday Tree, Holiday Bulb and Wreath. Kit mailed to you. $55 per class with kit, or all 4 for $199.

Order a kit & sign upDownload flyer
Flyer: Bling It On! Jewelry Art and Pressure Cooker Morning, Saturday November 7, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm, Silver Spring Studio, $45 per person, kit and lunch included
Saturday, Nov 7 · 9:30 am–1 pm

Bling It On! Jewelry Art & Pressure Cooker Morning

Create a sparkling 5×5 framed holiday piece, then enjoy a pressure cooker demo and lunch together. $45 per person, kit and lunch included. Only 20 spots.

Reserve your spotDownload flyer
Flyer: Deck the Halls with Darlene at The Well Café, Almonte, Saturday November 28 at 1:00 pm
Saturday, Nov 28 · 1–4 pm

Deck the Halls with Darlene

Holiday wreath or outdoor urn arrangement at The Well Café, Almonte. Free; please bring a non-perishable food item. Evergreen provided. Space for 40.

Reserve your free spotDownload flyer
See it in action

Real sessions, real results.

Loving Hearts jewelry art piece

Loving Hearts

Jewelry Art

 In Memory Of jewelry art pieces

In Memory Of

Heartful Memories

 Pink vintage jewelry art holiday tree in a silver frame

Gifts, Kits & More

Jewelry Art
View the Full PortfolioHeartful Kitchen Recipes
Why we do this
“To bring creative, hands-on experiences into the homes and communities of adults with developmental disabilities, seniors and neighbours across Ottawa, building real relationships one visit at a time.”
Darlene Valentine, Founder
Read My StoryMission, Vision & Values
Our team

A growing team of Heartful Guides.

Every program is led by Darlene or a caring, qualified guide she has personally chosen. One familiar face, backed by standards you can trust.

Personally matched

Darlene meets with you first, learns what matters to you and matches the guide who fits best.

Screened, insured & safe

Every guide holds a current Vulnerable Sector Screening and First Aid & CPR, and is covered by liability insurance.

Trained the Heartful way

Ability first, adapted for dexterity and memory, and always at your pace.

Darlene stays involved

Regular check-ins, so you always have someone to call with questions, ideas or changes.

Join our team

Share your gifts. Become a Heartful Guide.

We’re building a list of warm, qualified people in the Ottawa area to join us as contract guides as new programs come in.

Introduce Yourself

Who we’re looking for

  • Artists, crafters and makers
  • Developmental services and support workers
  • PSWs, recreation and activity staff
  • Retired teachers, nurses and caregivers

What you’ll need

  • Current Vulnerable Sector Screening
  • First Aid & CPR certification
  • Reliable transportation
  • Patience, kindness and a love of people
Connect

Bring a Heartful Experience to your community.

Not sure which program is the right fit? We’d love to help you find it, or build something new around your group.

Book a ConversationBuy a Kit OnlineCustom OrderEtsy Shop

Darlene Valentine
Founder · Community Builder · Experience Guide

Phone613-227-3633
Emaildarlene@heartfulabilities.com
Webheartfulabilities.com
Based inOttawa, Ontario