Lori McLeod couldn’t believe her ears as she listened intently to her former mother-in-law, Donna, describe the “nice man” who helped her with chores.
“He was the window washer, and he was a good guy,” recalls Lori. “He was taking her places and she was buying him things. ‘You need me to drive you to the doctor? I’ll drive you there. Oh darn, my truck’s not working. Can you lend me some money to fix it?’ My red flags started going up,” she says. “This doesn’t sound right.”
It wasn’t. The friendly handyman was working the building, fleecing Donna and others of cash under the guise of helping. Lori figured about $10,000 over an 18-month period was lost and since the other residents were too embarrassed to press charges, Lori and her brother-in-law confronted the grifter on their own.
“I said you’ve got to sign this promissory note and pay her back, and then he disappeared. She never got the money back and neither did anybody else in that building.”
Lori never forgot that experience. Predators were taking advantage of vulnerable seniors, and something had to be done about it. It was a call-to-action, and over the last 20+ years Lori has been a fierce advocate for seniors’ issues. She is the Executive Director of the Victoria Eldercare Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to addressing the emotional and material needs of the elderly.
Eldercare provides equipment and activities to four long-term care buildings owned and operated by Vancouver Island Health. Eldercare also contributes, on a shared partnership basis, to other VI Health community programs – a bathing program, a program that facilitates day trips with a caregiver, and one that subsidizes those seniors who have signed up for a personal lifeline alarm but can’t afford the device.
“We identify the need, we raise the money, and we spend it,” says Lori.
The Foundation also provides education and research bursaries to students and professionals studying or working in geriatrics.
“We’re lean and mean but we have a big footprint,” she says. Eldercare consists of Lori, an assistant, and two part-time employees. Her secret is multi-sectoral collaboration, partnering with other organizations to get more bang for the buck.
“We learn from each other and share.”
Dave Sinclair is the Past President of BC/Yukon Command Royal Canadian Legion and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Legion Manor, a 147-unit retirement community in Saanich. He remembers working with Lori 20 years ago to raise funds for Eldercare and two Legion housing societies. It was a lottery. The first prize was a trip to Rome, the second a trip to Paris and the third, a new car. Lori went to work securing the prizes.
“Lori did the bulk of the sponsorship side of it,” says Dave. “Once you say yes to Lori, you’re there for life.” He laughs. It’s a personal and professional relationship they maintain to this day.
Eldercare’s operating budget is approximately a million dollars a year, a result of grants, fundraising activities, like the lottery with Dave, and public donations. When asked about process, Lori says Island Health therapy, social work, and front-line nursing staff supply her with the kind of personal stories donors can relate to.
“Those testimonials will help us explain where the money is going and why it’s making a difference in someone’s life.”
Lori says she’s not just raising money but raising awareness.
“There’s a myth out there that the senior generation has lots of money, but guess what? There are a lot of seniors below the poverty line. They’re choosing between buying groceries or paying for their medications. Seniors’ poverty is a real thing.”
A very real thing. A 2014 Statistics Canada report pegged seniors’ poverty at 12 per cent of the total or approximately 600,000 Canadian seniors, most of them women. Keep in mind that’s an old statistic. The true figure is likely to be higher.
“These are the people that created the society that we are so blessed to live in today,” says Lori. “They fought for us, they worked hard. Don’t they deserve dignity and respect and to have a quality of life after everything they’ve done for us?”
Lori has been helping others for a long time. Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, she moved to BC with her family when she was seven years old.
“I was kind of a leader in school. I was the president of the student association. I did a lot of volunteer work when I was younger as well,” she says.
She toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer and worked at a law firm while still in high school, typing and filing documents.
“That’s when I met a guy, got married, and got into Elk Lake Sports, sailing and surfing and all that kind of stuff.”
Elk Lake Sports was a shop she and her then-husband co-owned. They sold wet suits and t-shirts and rented out canoes and windsurfers to day trippers. Lori also conducted sailing lessons. In the off-season, she dipped her hand into conveyancing and paralegal work.
After seven years at the sports shop, she joined CHEK-TV as the executive assistant to the general manager and quickly carved out a niche for herself as community liaison.
“I noticed the not-for-profit organizations that were looking for free television publicity for their event were going to different departments,” she says. “There was no co-ordination. So, I created a community access program for not-for-profits. They just had one place to go, and they got really good television exposure.”
Her job introduced her to many of the Island’s businesses, service clubs, and charities. She was eventually promoted to co-general manager of the station but left CHEK in 2000.
“I’m a serial volunteer,” says Lori, “and my job at CHEK in community relations had me involved in a number of organizations, sitting on their boards and volunteering for their special events. I happened to be sitting on the communications committee of an organization called the Juan de Fuca Hospitals Association. I heard their executive director was leaving and I said, I think I want that job.” She was motivated, she recalls, by that incident with Donna and the grifter 20 years earlier.
“It was the weirdest job interview ever,” she remembers. “I had no experience fundraising, and I couldn’t answer any of their questions, but I said deep in my heart I know how to promote things. I want to grow it; I want to get the word out. I want to bring seniors’ issues to the forefront.”
She got the job and settled into the position, and Juan de Fuca Hospital Association soon changed its name to the Greater Victoria Eldercare Foundation.
“I’m very proud I’ve been able to make a difference in people’s lives in the last 22 years,” she says of her position.
“She is just an incredible leader,” says Linda Jones, a 20-year member of Eldercare’s Board of Directors. “It’s a real commitment, a real dedication, and a real love of the Foundation. She’s really the Foundation’s heart.”
Lori’s social activism goes beyond Eldercare. She’s the past Chair of the Oak Bay Rotary Club and the present Chair of Telus Vancouver Island Community Board, a funding organization that supports Island charities and marginalized populations. Since its inception in 2007, the Community Board has awarded $5 million in grants including $20,000 to the United Way’s More Than Meals program and $50,000 to the Children’s Health Foundation’s Q̓ʷalayu House in Campbell River. Q̓ʷalayu House is a respite for North Island youth and families who need to travel for critical medical care.
“With Eldercare, I’m raising money and giving it away. For Telus, we accept applications from organizations, and we fund them. I don’t have to raise the money. I’ve done everything from being on the board of the Dragon Boat Festival to being the co-chair of the Southern Gulf Islands Seniors Planning Table to Big Brothers and Big Sisters,” she continues.
And she still helps out her friends and allies. Dave Sinclair credits Lori with helping him promote Legion activities and in running his Board.
“As far as governance of a Board is concerned, I’ve gone to Lori instantly over the years and she has given me whatever help I’ve ever wanted. I’ve got all the respect in the world for her capabilities. That woman is just amazing. I’m waiting for the moment she leaves there because I want her on MY Board immediately.”
“I have to be careful to not take on too much,” Lori sighs. When asked about burn-out she replies, “No, I do it because I love it. I wanted to be a leader and make a difference. If I didn’t love it and if it didn’t make me feel like I was contributing somehow, then I think I probably wouldn’t.”
When not volunteering – and she does take a break from time to time – Lori finds comfort with her adult son, her two daughters, and her grandchildren.
“I love spending time with my family,” she says. “I’m always the one doing the big dinner parties. They call me Grandma. I tried to get my grandkids to call me Bella. Bella means beautiful in Italian so I thought it would be great if they called me that, but it didn’t work out,” she laughs.
She admits COVID protocols slowed her down. Sure, she was able to take her seven-year-old Shiatzu, Max, out on walks but social distancing kept her away from the one thing she loves to do and that is meeting people.
“COVID’s been really hard for me,” says Lori. “I’m a super social person, I like to get out there and it’s been very difficult. One of the things I miss the most is being able to go around to the various facilities and programs that we support and just spend the day talking with people. Seniors have the most amazing stories and I miss learning about them and their lives and everything they’ve been through. That’s been the most emotionally difficult thing for me – not being able to have that connection.”
Having said that, she still finds the time and the energy to push her pet project, a province-wide seniors’ strategy.
“We’re saying, ‘hey, we’re here, don’t forget about us.’ I think governments are starting to look at things. I mean we have a federal Minister of Seniors where we never had one before, and provincially, we have the Seniors Advocate. A lot has been done already and we just have to make sure we keep it up. We want to keep pushing.”
“That place wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for Lori,” says Dave Sinclair, highlighting her drive, focus and persistence. Lori just shrugs off the accolades.
“I’m a successful leader. I’m very fortunate to attract really wonderful people who have lots of expertise and experience and it helps me a lot because I don’t know everything, and I can’t do everything. If I can surround myself with great people, we can all do so much more collectively together and that’s kind of what I like to do.”
SNAPSHOT
It you were to meet your 20-year-old self, what advice would you give her?
“I would say follow your heart and be open to change and opportunity. I wish I had travelled a bit more and experienced a little bit more of the world and different cultures. I think that really leads to more understanding.”
Who or what has influenced you the most and why?
“I would say my parents. My father always encouraged me to try different things at my own speed until I found something that fulfilled me. ‘You want something? You got to put your nose to the grindstone and make it happen,’ he would say.”
What are you grateful for?
“My family. I volunteer a lot, I work a lot, I work hard. My job isn’t Monday-to-Friday 9 to 5, and my family’s very supportive. They understand that and they’re behind me 100 per cent of the way.”
What does success mean to you?
“Success for me is when I feel I’ve done everything I can do to meet a goal. I did as much as I could. Success is giving my all no matter the outcome.”
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A compelling and insightful interview.