2023 is Threads of Life’s 20th anniversary year. We all work together for the day when our organization won’t be needed, but in the meantime, we will spend some time this year honouring our past and looking toward our future. This month, we’re celebrating support – the support our partners and volunteers provide, and the support our family members find at Threads of Life. |
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Heather found acceptance, compassion, and a new goal |
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Families are complicated. Every family is different, and so when a tragedy happens, every family will be affected and will respond in different ways. Although they were separated, Heather and Dean remained longtime friends and shared parenting duties for their two daughters. Dean worked for a sheet metal installation company and was very safety-conscious. When he was killed in a fall from a building, it threw Heather and her daughters’ lives into a tailspin.
“I was devastated when Dean died,” Heather writes, “and yet I didn’t know how to express that pain because we had separated. I didn’t feel like I had a right to be so broken, and yet here I was, shattered, trying my level best to hold tight to my daughters through their pain and yet not knowing how or where to place my own.”
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Celebrating support: TriWest Capital Partners |
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At Threads of Life, we are fortunate to have partners who understand the ripple effects of a workplace tragedy. TriWest Capital Partners have demonstrated once again their compassion for families affected by tragedy, and their commitment to help. After a lull for the pandemic, the TriWest Capital Partners Forum came back strong in 2022, raising just under $70,000 for Threads of Life. The Forum also led to additional donations of $15,000 from two participating organizations. The TriWest event brings together TriWest’s portfolio companies in support of Threads of Life and STARS air ambulance. It makes a huge difference not only in raising funds, but in spreading the word about Threads of Life’s work to new potential family members, partners and volunteers. Funds raised by the event help to send families to Family Forums to learn healthy coping skills, train Volunteer Family Guides to work with grieving individuals, and provide information for those who’ve experienced a workplace fatality, life-altering injury or occupational disease.
“TriWest Capital Partners is honoured to support Threads of Life and the work they do in our communities,” said COO Dino DeLuca. “TriWest, along with our incredible partners, are committed to supporting families impacted by workplace tragedies, and we are very pleased to see our support is helping make a difference.”
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Big plans for Steps for Life 2023 |
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It’s still the heart of winter in most parts of Canada, but ideas and plans are already blooming for 2023’s Steps for Life-Walking for Families of Workplace Tragedy events this spring. Volunteers in close to 30 communities coast to coast are meeting, seeking sponsors and firming up their plans for both in-the-park and virtual events. Community walks are organized by amazing, creative and passionate volunteers. Read about two of our committees and their plans for this year’s walks. There are lots of ways you can get involved too! Register to walk by yourself or with a team, sign your business up as a community sponsor, or volunteer on the day of the walk in your community. Learn more at stepsforlife.ca.
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Welcome to our newest team member! |
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Threads of Life is pleased to welcome Tracey Csordas, the new Regional Development Coordinator for Central Canada. Tracey has been working in the non-profit, social housing sector for 20 years. She is also a distance education instructor for The Institute of Housing Management. Tracey is looking forward to working with Threads of Life’s partners, volunteers and family members and sharing our Vision, Mission and Values with the Threads of Life community. |
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Donors like you: Sharon Lesko | Threads of Life
Christopher Lesko's life is continuing to make a difference for others, even after his death, thanks to his mother's love and generosity. In Christopher's honour, Sharon Lesko has established the "Let's Go Lesko" foundation, which donates...
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threadsoflife.ca
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Grandpa's Happy Place | Threads of Life
A few years before COVID hit, my wife, Marianne, and I took a trip to visit our daughter, Sandra, and her family. Michael, her husband, is in the military and they had purchased a house in the Comox Valley area near the base on Vancouver Island.
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threadsoflife.ca
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