Debra started out in her career marketing women’s fashion, but soon realized that it didn’t feed her soul. So 37 years ago she switched to fundraising, and hasn’t looked back. Debra considers helping small, grassroots organizations focused on improving Canada’s social fabric to be her life’s calling. Without such organizations Canada would be far worse off. This is something she knows from lived experience, starting when she was just a young girl.
A Valley Girl at Heart
Debra grew up in the town of Arnprior, in the Ottawa Valley, where she was the second youngest of nine children. As a young child Debra was aware that her mother lived with chronic pain from gallstones, but since it was before Canada had publicly funded healthcare, Debra’s mother always deferred to her family’s financial needs before her own, and with nine kids there was always someone or something that trumped her needs. Debra was a quiet observer of her mother’s sacrifice, so when she had aches and pains growing up, she too suffered in silence so that she didn’t add to the family’s financial burden in any way.
Debra’s mother suffered with gallstones for 20 years before she had them treated for free, thanks to the concerted efforts of the politicians who brought in access to free medical care for all Canadians. When the federal Medical Care Act took effect in July 1968, it was largely due to the foundational efforts of Tommy Douglas when he was the Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961.
It is her appreciation of the individuals who create social movements such as this, both big and small, that motivates Debra to stay involved long past her retirement, a date that came and went a decade ago.
Small Start-ups Are Her Soul Food
Debra tried to retire, but it lasted just a few months—a golf season to be exact—and ended with her contemplating the age-old question, “Now what?”
When she came back to work after a failed attempt at retirement, she made it her focus to do what she could to support smaller, purpose driven start-ups that couldn’t otherwise afford her fees. She is committed to helping any organization that supports what is known as the “third sector” of our social fabric, such as health, housing, wellness, the elderly, and the needy.
Supporting the people driving these organizations, and their incredible sense of purpose, is what feeds Debra’s soul, because she believes that by bettering our communities, we ultimately better our country.
So when Eli’s Place ads started popping up in her LinkedIn account, she looked into it, and immediately recognized that not only does Eli’s Place align with her values, it will fill an existing gap in Canada’s approach to treating mental illness in young adults, something near and dear to her heart.
What appeals to her most about Eli’s Place is the personalization of its approach to mental illness. “We take humanity out of medicine all the time”, she said, “effective programs in mental health need to take the whole person into account. They need compassion and humanity.”
A Bit of Kismet
Debra is very aware of the gaps in the system from her own life journey. “Up until the age of 18 there’s lots of programs for children and youth that are struggling; for some of them, their problems don’t go away when they turn 19, but help for them starts to disappear,” Debra said. It is the not-for-profit organizations that pick up this slack which the government can’t, or won’t fill that Debra is drawn to support. So it is no surprise that the mission of Eli’s Place resonated deeply with Debra, and when opportunity knocked she felt called to serve on the Board of Directors.
Debra has a profound admiration for the persistence and dedication of the entire Eli’s Place community, and especially its founders, David and Deborah Cooper. She feels that everyone has done an amazing job of getting us to where we are now—preparing to open our doors—and she wants to help us think about where Eli’s Place will be 25 plus years from now.
Specifically, Debra wants to make sure that Eli’s Place remains sustainable and resilient, and doesn’t rely on a single funding source. She wants to use her decades of experience with smaller start-ups to help Eli’s Place establish an organizational infrastructure to ensure our messaging is clear, and we are consistently sharing the impact and participants’ progress with our community in order to build a loyal support base.
An ethos refers to the core beliefs, character, or guiding spirit that define a person, organization, or culture, often representing the “spirit of the time”. Debra’s addition to the board feels like two ethos colliding, thanks to a bit of kismet allowing the universe to unfold as it should.
Sara Moore | Eli’s Place Volunteer
Sara Moore is keen to see Eli's Place open its doors and volunteers on the Communications Committee. It has always been Sara's dream to create a community committed to healing and mental wellness. Three years ago, her own hero’s journey led Sara to the Almaguin Highlands where she opened a glampground and wellness centre called Deer Lake Wilderness Retreat. Recently she launched The Heroic Parent Club, a safe space where struggling parents can find wise travelling companions to support them on their own hero’s journey.
- Sara Moore | Eli’s Place Volunteer
- Sara Moore | Eli’s Place Volunteer
- Sara Moore | Eli’s Place Volunteer
- Sara Moore | Eli’s Place Volunteer
