What It Means to Give Everything — and Gain Even More
On International Women’s Day, Greyshirt Melissa Henderson reminds us that service isn’t just something you do. It’s who you become.
Melissa Henderson was six years old when her parents separated, and not much older when she understood, with quiet certainty, that no one was coming to save her.
Early in her life, she faced hardship that no child should have to carry. Rather than be diminished by it, she made a vow: she would become strong — mentally, physically, emotionally — and she would build a different future for herself.
She did.
Henderson went on to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces, including time in Special Forces. Along the way she carried diagnoses that would give most people pause — multiple learning disabilities, PTSD, social anxiety, and depression. She also carried grief that would stop many people entirely, including the loss of a daughter born too soon.
Still, she kept moving forward. “A diagnosis explains you,” Henderson says. “It does not define you.”
That drive showed up early in uniform, too. Henderson was named Private of the Year — not because she was the most naturally gifted, she’ll tell you, but because discipline and effort became her standard. That same clarity of purpose eventually brought her to Team Rubicon Canada. When wildfires swept through Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, she deployed with a crew of Greyshirts to help those impacted by the fires begin the long process of recovery.
The work required patience and care. Henderson and other Greyshirts sifted through ashes where homes once stood, searching for the things families hoped might still be found: a wedding ring, a photograph, a small urn holding a loved one’s remains. On some days they found pets, giving families a measure of closure after disaster had taken so much.
“Kneeling in ashes, gently searching for someone’s memories,” Henderson reflects, “reminds you what truly matters.”
Service has a way of doing that.
This International Women’s Day, Team Rubicon Canada recognizes women like Henderson — Greyshirts who bring their experience, resilience, and determination to the mission. The 2026 IWD theme, #GiveToGain, reflects something many of these women understand well: that giving time, skill, and effort when communities face disaster or significant challenges often returns something equally powerful. Service builds purpose, strengthens community, and reminds people that they still have a role to play in helping others move forward.
Henderson found that sense of purpose again through the Invictus Games, the international adaptive sports competition for wounded, injured, and ill service members and veterans. She chose events that challenged her most — swimming because water frightened her, downhill skiing in Whistler because standing at the top of a mountain and deciding to go anyway captures the spirit of the thing. Each experience reinforced the same lesson: growth often waits on the other side of discomfort.
Off the mountain and out of the ashes, Henderson’s service continues to evolve. She has recently advanced in her role at work and completed a cybersecurity program, with her sights set on digital forensics. The battlefield, she says, simply looks different now.
And in her personal life, she is — her word — thriving. She has built a strong, loving relationship with her daughter, and this August she will marry a partner who has stood beside her through every challenge. For a woman who once carried so much alone, that is not a small thing.
Across Canada, women make up a growing and essential part of Team Rubicon’s nearly 4,500 volunteers. They deploy after floods and wildfires, train alongside veterans, first responders, and civilians, and bring skill and determination to communities facing disaster and significant challenges. Henderson’s story is one example among many.
As she puts it: “Strength isn’t about avoiding hardship. It’s about knowing who you are when hardship comes.” She was that girl in a small town who decided, against every reason not to, that she would build something worth having. She built it, and is still building it.
On this International Women’s Day, Team Rubicon Canada recognizes the women who continue to answer that call — unconquered.
Interested in serving your community alongside veterans and first responders? Learn more about volunteering with Team Rubicon Canada at teamrubiconcanada.ca.