PAYING IT FORWARD AND GIVING BACK

In conversations with people, I sometimes hear it said that Halifax (and perhaps Nova Scotia) has fewer than six degrees of separation. I wondered about that, and what it meant, but I now have my own experience of this phenomenon.

Gaye Wishart is a Halifax hero with 20 years worth of experiences volunteering, including a role as a former Board Chair of Avalon.  In her nomination for the Halifax hero award, ISANS staff called her “an advocate, a community builder and much more.”

As a retiree, Gaye Wishart sat, as one of several, on the advisory committee for a project called Moving Up: Under-Employed Immigrant Professional Women. I was a study participant in this project, and in March 2017 - at an event where the findings were shared - I participated in a panel of immigrant women. 

I benefited greatly from the efforts of ISANS project to improve career outcomes for immigrant women[2] . I was deeply inspired by the other immigrant (and non-immigrant) people I met, gained greater confidence in my leadership abilities and was encouraged to seek out opportunities to give of myself to worthy causes. I could not have known that three years later, I would be the Chair of the Board of Avalon.

“Avalon Sexual Assault Centre is welcoming a new team of skilled and diverse volunteers to the Board of Directors for the 2019/2020 year. The new board was elected at the Annual General Meeting held on September 26, 2019, with the full support of the outgoing board. This transition in governance reflects the growing demand Avalon has experienced since the #MeToo movement began and the evolving needs of its staff.[1]”

I haven`t met Gaye yet, but I hope to soon. And in the meantime, I am grateful for her time and volunteer experience that have in a Halifax way intertwined with mine. From what I have read about her, we both value volunteerism and giving back through community involvement.

I am honoured to support staff and the Executive Director through my time and expertise, as we re-imagine some aspects of the organization’s structure to better serve existing demand and emerging needs.

Thanks to all the previous Board Chairs (since Avalon’s founding) who have volunteered and given of themselves, you have passed the baton. I follow in your footsteps, paying it forward through volunteering and giving back to community as I chair the board of Avalon, like Gaye, and all of you did.

About the Author

Louise Adongo, has irrepressible curiosity and a keen interest in supporting communities to better themselves. Unafraid to try new things, or do old things differently, Louise has worked on projects with many teams in several sectors in Nova Scotia and different parts of Africa. An avid reader, traveller and gardener with multidisciplinary interests, Louise founded Caprivian Strip Inc. consultancy, to provide advice and support to agencies seeking to sustain their client services.

[1] Avalon, September 27 2019, Media Release  

[2] ISANS project (funded by Status of Women Canada): Underemployed Professional Immigrant Women Project – Executive Summary - 2017