COMMUNITY IS ABOUT DOING SOMETHING TOGETHER THAT MAKES BELONGING MATTER.
The GBA team believes it is always important to give back to the communities you are helping to build. As Graham Bird maintains, “It’s a core value for all of us at GBA. We try to pair up good work with good deeds.” Below are examples of how members of the GBA Team are giving back to the community
Crichton Street Collective Act of Kindness
As the Ottawa Convention Centre was taking form on Colonel By Drive the project team at large came together with the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Housing to build a new apartment building for families in need in central Ottawa.The building and trades unions hired for construction of the Ottawa Convention Centre, along with GBA, PCL Constructors Canada, the Ottawa Building and Trades Council, and many other partners, led a group of workers to demolish the crumbling apartment at 245 Crichton Street.
In its place they worked together to construct a modern, accessible apartment building that now accommodates six local families who needed a home and community. The majority of materials and labour were donated to this deserving project that helped boost both the landscape and the soul of the neighbourhood.
Around Town-Giving Back to The Ottawa Hospital
Ottawa Citizen
CAROLINE PHILLIPS
Published on: August 28, 2014 Last Updated: September 3, 2014 2:59 PM EDT
Prominent project manager Graham Bird belongs to a long line of family members who came into this world at The Ottawa Hospital.
His connection doesn’t end there — the hospital is also where many of his loved ones turned for medical help when battling cancer, ALS and heart problems.
Now, for his third year in a row, Bird is undertaking a leadership role with Mary Jane Manley at the hospital foundation’s 13th annual President’s Breakfast, slated for September 16 at the Ottawa Convention Centre. The pair is back to co-chair the fundraiser, which brought in nearly $400,000 last year. Manley is a sales representative with Royal LePage Performance Realty but previously worked for about 15 years as a nurse.
Christmas Smiles for Seniors
Many seniors have no family. Some have limited incomes and their families live too far away to visit, while others have sadly been abandoned. It is hard enough to be alone at any time, but Christmas has to be the hardest.
The goal of Christmas Smiles for Seniors is to bring a smile to lonely seniors by remembering them at the most festive time of year. Chantal Langevin, GBA’s Office Manager, finds volunteers to purchase gifts for the seniors in Ottawa/Gatineau.
Christmas Smiles for Seniors were able to provide gifts to 2,037 individuals in 51 residences across the Ottawa/Gatineau region in 2016. Chantal personally finds enough gifts to help over 500 people.
To make the gifts personal and meaningful, we ask each senior on the Smiles for Seniors list for gift suggestions, and the volunteers go out and pick up some, or even all, of the items that were requested. This ensures that each of the seniors received a gift that they both want and can use, and shows them that someone cares about them.
iPolitics recently did an interview with Chantal which you can read by clicking here.
If you would like more information about Christmas Smiles for Seniors, click here.
Volunteering
As part of his lifelong commitment to community building, Graham Bird currently volunteers, or has been involved as a community leader, with the following community organizations:
- YMCA-YWCA — Board member
- Operation Come Home — Board member
- The Ottawa Hospital President’s Breakfast — Co-Chair
- Ottawa University Executive MBA – Advisory Board member
- The Ottawa Hospital — Board member
- The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa — Board member
- Community Care Access Corporation – past Chair
- Ottawa-Carleton Board of Trade – past Chair
- Forum for International Trade Training (FITT)
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation — Board member
- Ottawa Carleton Economic Development Corporation
- The Salvation Army — Advisory Board member
At GBA, we believe Margaret Mead was right when she said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”