David Busby Street Centre

Community Champions Series

 Donna Douglas believes in the power of goodness.  That is why she has written her regular column in a local newspaper for many years celebrating Barrie’s unsung heroes – our community champions.

 Donna arrived in Barrie from Kingston, Ontario in 1971 as the new editor of the old Barrie Banner.  Barrie, with a population of only 24,000 souls was not her first choice.  Even then, our downtown lacked the charm and amenities of many similar communities.

 Yet, the newly reclaimed public waterfront was a clue that this was a community waiting to happen.  She noticed that, unlike some communities, Barrie was a mixed, egalitarian city.  There were no rich enclaves or ghettos, no obvious class divisions.

 As many others have discovered, Barrie offers the right mix of personal privacy and community spirit. It is neither as smothering nor as xenophobic as some small towns yet avoids the automatic anonymity so many people experience in a huge city like Toronto.

 As Donna describes it, Barrie has a special soul, full of friends we haven’t met yet.

 As the city has increased to about 130,000 citizens, there are growing pockets of unconnected residents who commute south and really don’t feel like part of the community.  On the other hand, there is almost nothing that can’t be found here by way of culture, interest or community involvement, not to mention business opportunities that people usually expect in a larger city.  It is just a matter of scale.

 Professionally, Donna is a veteran entrepreneur. After a 10 year stint delivering the federal government Self Employment Assistance Programme, she decided to branch out beyond serving the unemployed.  Since 2003, she has owned and operated a successful business called “Go Venture” that teaches other entrepreneurs how to operate successful and sustainable businesses.  She knows every one of her students and follows up on their success for 24 months.  Her company claims an 82% success rate among its graduates.

During the recent recession, she contacted every student and graduate to remind them how fortunate they are to be self-employed, knowing their financial security was within their own control while others worried about being laid off.

 But Donna is known as a giver in other ways.  She believes in devoting her energies to one cause at a time.  In past years she has volunteered with Victoria Village, Out of the Cold and was founding president of two school councils.  Since 2004, her focus has been Christmas Cheer, which provides gift baskets to Barrie residents who might otherwise have nothing at Christmas. 

 Donna is a doer and prefers working on projects rather than sitting on boards of directors. She believes in team building and community enterprise and sees herself as a catalyst, leading by example and using her media savvy to create awareness and harness resources. As the first past president of Christmas Cheer her job has been looking for affordable space to house this mammoth project every year.  

 Their campaign raised $270,000 in 38 days by calling upon the champions in Barrie to help.  By using social media, direct letters and through their website online donation option, they attract $40 - $50,000 annually. 

 Considering Donna’s extensive experience helping the unemployed and Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Programme recipients, as well as her many years with Christmas Cheer, I asked her about poverty and homelessness in Barrie.

 Donna doesn’t believe in stereotypes and hates the idea of calling the less fortunate “marginalized”.  This objectifies them and makes us forget that they are our neighbours.  She believes that they are often stranded by society.  They are not lazy and no one chooses poverty.  She feels that the role of philanthropists should be to make life good in our community for everyone in whatever ways they can.

 It starts with awareness and asking, “Is there anything I can do?”  It is so easy to feel overwhelmed. But philanthropy is not just the grand gesture or huge gift but more often the accumulation of small acts of kindness that each one of us can perform.  That is what builds a community and makes each one of us a potential champion. Most importantly, Donna says, is that whatever gifts we offer of time, treasure or talent must be unconditional.  True givers focus only on what they can do for others.

 But this needs leadership, according to Donna.  Leadership in any capacity requires accountability and hard work.  Good leaders are champions for others, seeing the best in them, empowering them to be their best selves.  Leaders aren’t afraid of mistakes or letting people learn from their own errors.  Instead, leaders are givers by nature, committed and positive while being realistic about their own and others’ limitations.

 She believes that every brick wall we hit inspires our best creative efforts.  That is how miracles happen and the seemingly impossible becomes reality.

 Every act of leadership through kindness, no matter how small, creates a ripple effect throughout a community.  

 Donna believes that when people realize that poverty affects everyone, that they rise to the occasion.  The David Busby Street Centre is at the front line. Its’ goal is not merely to bandage the wounds but to reduce the effects of poverty and homelessness in Simcoe County. Many of their participants also rely on the Canadian Mental Health Association The Salvation Army, the Elizabeth Fry Society, The Grocery Assistance Program, Christmas Cheer, Children`s Aid Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Barrie Food Bank. Barrie Out of the Cold and other organizations within Simcoe County.

 The David Busby Street Centre needs a permanent facility and hopes to work with other community partners to consolidate volunteer and financial resources to achieve this goal.

 Community Champions like Donna help create awareness and provide leadership by offering support at a grassroots level.  This means encouraging and empowering others to get connected.  Through their example they challenge their neighbours, businesses and government leaders to commit to the goal of making our community a better place to live.

 True champions believe that the difficult takes effort and time.  The impossible just takes a little longer.

 Alan Atkins is the chair of the communications committee of the David Busby Street Centre. For more information contact 705-739-6916 or visit www.busbycentre.ca

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