A Story Of Why I Give: Meet Cali, Team Rubicon Canada’s Youngest Donor
My name is Julie and I’m thrilled to share our story of how we came to support the amazing Team Rubicon Canada organization this year.
I come from a family of grandparents who served in the military, both paternal and maternal grandparents. I have a strong sense of pride and respect for all who serve their countries, past and present.
I’ve always had a lifelong passion for volunteering; I remember getting my first car at 17 years old and being thrilled that I could sign up to deliver Meals-on-Wheels to seniors. My husband and I married later in life and after the miscarriage of our ‘honeymoon’ baby, we struggled to conceive again. We were fortunate to have the resources and fortitude to pursue fertility treatments. Four years, eight treatments and at the age of 43, we welcomed our miracle child Cali. From the beginning, our parenting style was “old-school” and leaned towards focusing on teaching her manners, respect, compassion and gratitude from an early age.
I have continued to volunteer my time throughout her life, often bringing Cali along. When she turned two, we decided to use her birthday as an opportunity to both receive gifts and give back. Cali’s “Good Deed Give Back” was born. For her birthday party, we would offer Cali three options of a charity to support. Initially it was dog rescue (age 2), cat rescue (age 3) and horse rescue (age 4) and we would encourage family and party guests to participate by bringing a small contribution to a gift basket. The goal was to collect small items (dog toys, cat toys, bags of apples or carrots) that Cali would then donate herself in person. We have also collected toys for kids in a northern indigenous community (age 5), a women’s shelter (age 6), local food bank (age 7) and a children’s foundation for kids experiencing hair loss (age 8). The objective was not intended to be high dollar value; our focus was on the tangible effort of her giving back.
As Cali has grown older, she’s been more engaged with the process of choosing the recipient each year. We try to vet charities and groups from different communities so that she is being exposed to more people in need. With the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, we opted not to have an in-person 8th birthday party for Cali and we had to navigate a new way of supporting her “Good Deed Give Back.” While the option to collect funds through an online fundraiser increased her collection success financially, it also made it more hands-off for her and we have tried to ensure she still “sees” the benefits of her efforts.
I discovered Team Rubicon Canada on CanadaHelps.org when I was creating her 8th birthday fundraiser and we included it as one of the three options for her 9th birthday. Cali remembered when I volunteered for the 2017 Toronto Invictus Games and how inspired I was by the veteran athletes. She asked if Team Rubicon was another sporting event. We went to the Team Rubicon Canada website, and I showed her all the ways the military volunteers (working alongside civilians) are helping in places that experience disasters and crises both locally and across Canada. I explained that the military volunteers bring an incredibly hard work ethic, diverse skills and a passion for helping others. She asked if I would be volunteering too and I realized that helping Team Rubicon Canada would be something I’d be very good at and proud to be a part of. Now I’m thrilled to say I have officially signed up as a Greyshirt and look forward to getting out in the field.
We were watching the Remembrance Day services on Nov 11th and recognized two of the Greyshirt volunteers who were part of the Little City “Highway of Heroes” display. I have always watched the processions for fallen soldiers on the Highway of Heroes with a mix of deep sadness for their loss and pride for the thousands who gather along the route to honour them. Seeing Team Rubicon Canada represented in that ceremony was very inspiring.
We were excited to collect $670 for Cali’s 9th Birthday and donate it in person to Helen & Andrei at the Team Rubicon Canada head office.
To the Greyshirt volunteers; there are no words to describe the gratitude and relief that so many feel when they see you arrive, get down to work, dig deep and persevere in the hardest of conditions. We admire the scope & strength of your training when you tackle the most challenging natural disasters. If Cali and I could help in any small measure we would be honoured to stand with you. My Go-Bag is coming together and once we’re through the other side of this pandemic, I hope to deploy and work alongside all of the Greyshirt volunteers with a deep sense of pride and respect.
Thank you, Team Rubicon Canada, for allowing us to share our story.
Consider making a donation to help fuel our mission today: https://team-rubicon.ca/give/