Every year, as we launch the Federated Health Charities campaign, I find myself reflecting on the same question:
Why do we give?
The answer isn’t found in spreadsheets, campaign goals, or graphs – it’s found in people. In the quiet, everyday moments that remind us how closely health, hope, and community are intertwined.
For me, that reminder often comes when someone shares their story. A colleague who quietly mentions their spouse is undergoing treatment. A team member who lost a parent to cancer. Someone who is caring for a child with a chronic illness while still showing up to work each day.
These moments aren’t always public, and they’re rarely dramatic. But they stay with me. They are powerful reminders that behind every donation – whether it’s five dollars or fifty – sits a very real human experience.
This year, one story that stayed with me was Troy’s.
He gave for years simply because he believed it mattered. And then, overnight, his world changed with a brain tumour diagnosis. Suddenly, the charity he once supported in a general way became deeply personal. His generosity didn’t stop – it sharpened. It grew purpose.
Stories like his remind us that health is not an abstract issue. It’s something that touches every workplace, every family, every one of us.
I think that’s why the OPS continues to amaze me. In an environment as large and as busy as ours, it would be easy to focus only on the work in front of us. But year after year, thousands of employees choose to look up and extend compassion outward.
It’s one of the things I’m proudest of – not just as Executive Director, but as a fellow human being who knows how unpredictable life can be.
Giving back is not about having extra.
It’s about choosing to use what we have – time, energy, dollars, kindness – to make things a little lighter for someone else. Someone we may never meet. Someone who may one day be us.
When this year’s campaign launches on April 1st, I hope you’ll:
- pause when a story moves you.
- support an office fundraiser that brings a few smiles to the day.
- share your own “why I give”.
- donate whatever amount feels right for you.
Because at its heart, Federated Health Charities isn’t just a fundraising campaign. It’s a reminder of what community looks like at its best: people showing up for one another, even in small, quiet ways that ripple farther than we ever see. Thank you for being part of that. And for your generosity, your heart, and your willingness to make a difference.
