Inspiring Leadership from Global Medic Heroes

This week I was invited to Global Medic’s 2012 Heroes Night hosted by the inspiring Rahul Singh. The event was held at Arcadian Loft – a newly re-launched and one of Toronto’s most sought after event spaces with historic charm and modern sophistication.

GlobalMedic is the operational arm of the David McAntony Gibson Foundation (DMGF). DMGF is a registered Canadian charity that runs capacity building programmes in post conflict nations and provides disaster relief services to large scale catastrophes around the world. Their team is staffed by professional Canadian rescuers – specifically paramedics, police officers, nurses, doctors and firefighters - who volunteer their time and skills to help those in need around the world.

It truly was an honor to be in the presence of great women and men who have bravely put their lives on the line to serve both locally and internationally in emergency and crisis situations. We also had the honor of having remarks from Hon. David Onley as well as Mr. Peter Mansbridge and Mr. John Tory as honorary co-chairs for the event.

I spoke with Matt Capabianco, Manager, Emergency Programs who joined GlobalMedic as Manager of Emergency Programs in May, 2007. His GlobalMedic mission deployments include Jakarta, Indonesia floods in 2007; floods of southern Bangladesh in August 2007; Peru earthquake in August 2007; Cyclone Sidr, Bangladesh in November 2007 and the Sichuan, China earthquake of May, 2008; Flooding in Brazil and Honduras 2008; earthquakes in Haiti and Chile 2010, floods in Pakistan 2010. He recently returned from a deployment in Somalia and Kenya.


Matt introduced me to his friend and colleague Sean who works for Niagara EMS. He and his girlfriend Brenna are both paramedics and volunteer for Global Medic! Sean’s last deployment was end of the year last year to Turkey after the devastating earthquake that hit the country. When I asked him what was the most exciting part of his volunteer work he immediately said it’s that Global Medic is about capacity building and creating sustainable so that the work can continue long after they leave. He shared a story about his experience in Turkey and ended it saying “One of the greatest things is that it wasn’t just us working there. There are so many other people and partners who were involved especially from Turkey too. We were working together to manage the situation.”

A truly inspiring evening for us all. A big thank you to all the the brave women and men who take time out of their lives and volunteer themselves to the high risk situations that Global Medic responds to.

To learn more about Global Medic and how you can support these missions, visit their website at www.globalmedic.ca. 

Click here for more photos from the 2012 Global Medic Heroes Night Event.

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Something New: What Would You Like to Learn?

 

When was the last time you learned something knew? I mean something you’ve never done before.

I was inspired by the Skillshare Challenge: Reinvent Education with your Dream Learning Plan. The challenge is asking “What do you want to learn, how do you want to learn it, and how will you share it with the community?”.

It’s easy to get comfortable with doing things we already know how to. This is both in our careers but more importantly in our personal lives. Learning inspires creativity and the birthing of new ideas.

This spring I encourage all of us to learn something new. It could be anything from learning how to play soccer or how to tweet to restoring furniture or a new language. Anything!

What would you like to learn?

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Give a Little, Get a Lot More: How Volunteering Will Help Your Career

In the spirit of Valentine’s day I thought I’d share a little note on Volunteerism. HuffPost Impact did a neat piece last week on Valentine’s Day Ideas: 7 Volunteer Dates. The article encouraged people to give their time to a cause they like with a loved one as opposed to just the cliche Vday dinner and chocolate thing. I think this was such a good idea so thought I’d share it but also make a mini case for how volunteering could help your career.

Everyday thousands of dedicated people donate their time to charities and causes they care about. When you’re thinking about your career development, volunteerism can help you achieve your goals and get noticed!

So Why Volunteer?

  1. Sharing is caring: There’s nothing more satisfying than being part of ideas that matter. Due to low funding many non profit organizations are always looking for extra hands especially when you have a skill-set they could use. Helping others will ultimately help you because it’s a reflection to potential employers of the kind of person you can be i.e there’s more to you than just the static skill on the first page of your resume, you have passion and a heart for the world around you.
  2. Learn while caring: One of the coolest part of volunteering for something is that you quite frankly can learn or develop skills while doing so. For example, if you want to develop event planning s
  3. Networking: You just never know who you’re going to meet when you volunteer. Because millions of different types of people from all walks of life give their time to causes close to their hearts, it makes it the perfect meeting ground. Some of the greatest mentors and friends have been through volunteer endeavours.
  4. Get Noticed: The most successful people in the world tend to be dedicated volunteers in their free time. When you shine through giving back, you’ll get noticed for your talents and heart!
  5. It’s actually experience: I’ve met many people who say they need experience or they can’t get a job because they don’t have much on their resume. Volunteer experience is actual experience. It’s a great way to build your skills, showcase your talent and build your dynamic resume.

There you have it folks. Now go out and volunteer!

If you need help identifying volunteer opportunities in you local area, ask me how.

 

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In the Spotlight: A Canada Africa Partnership on AIDS

The Canada Africa Partnership on AIDS (CAP/AIDS Network) works in partnership with Canadian communities and African Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) on the front lines to resist, survive and overcome the HIV&AIDS epidemic.

Since 2003, CAP/AIDS has supported more than fifteen grassroots CBOs, in five African countries, namely, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.

It’s a registered Canadian Charity with only one staff member working in Canada, Claire Holloway Wadhwani, and a voluntary Board of Directors based in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.

Claire Holloway Wadhwani, Executive Director of CAPAIDS

Claire was appointed the Executive Director of CAPAIDS in 2010 and with her brought a wealth of experience in the non-profit sector, specializing in fundraising and public engagement.  She has spent time in Africa and India meeting with grassroots  community-based organizations and working to raise their profile and generate resources to support their work. She holds a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and a B.A. from Queen’s University specializing in International Development and  History.

Claire also currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Council for International Cooperation, a network representing more than 40 NGO members across the province.

One of their signature events is their annual Bike-a-Thon. A key challenge faced by those working to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic is transportation. Poor roads and the remote location of many communities make it very difficult to travel from one community to another. While it is neither practical nor affordable to provide all HIV/AIDS workers with a motor vehicle, it is possible to provide them with bicycles. As part of their ongoing partnerships with Community-Based Organizations, CAP/AIDS provides bicycles in supoprt of outreach, education and care & support efforts.

Ugandan community HIV/AIDS Group Receives Bikes donated by CAP AIDS through our Bike 2 CAP AIDS program

I continue to remain inspired by this collaborative organization and the folks behind it. Learn more about their wonderful work and how you can get involved with this hidden nugget at www.capaids.org or on their Facebook page.

 

Posted in City Building + Leadership, Global Affairs, Good Ideas, Health + Wellness, In the Spotlight, Nonprofit Managent, Social Action | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment