Aunt Leah’s Donors: Jocelyn & Walter Hill

Jocelyn and Walter Hill have been actively involved with Aunt Leah’s Society for several years, both personally and through their children. The Hill family originally met Gale and Paul Stewart wehn Paul coached Nancy, the Hill’s daughter, in soccer before the Aunt Leah’s Society was established.

Jocelyn and Walter Hill have been actively involved with Aunt Leah's Society for several years.

A few years later, it was Nancy who brought the family into the Aunt Leah’s community in a more formal way. She was involved in a car accident that resulted in a large settlement, of which she thought it would be a good idea to donate a portion to charity. When she approached her mom about who to donate the money to, the two decided together on Aunt Leah’s.

“It’s easy to get involved once Gale Stewart gets a hold of you,” says Jocelyn. And soon after the donation was made, the Hill family was volunteering at Aunt Leah’s Tree Lot and the Aunt Leah’s Gallery.

Eventually Nancy became chairperson of the Board of Directors. She moved to Paris last year, and replaced herself on the board with her brother, Graham. Two years later, Graham is now the chairperson, having taken over following Todd Walter and Harry Ng. The Hill’s other child, Patrick, also volunteers for the society, putting time in at the Tree Lot every Christmas.

“We’ve been doing the Tree Lot since it started,” says Walter. When asked what motivates them to volunteer, he continues, “It’s donating right to the source that helps people. The need is right here in the community.”

“The people at Aunt Leah’s are so wonderful,” says Jocelyn. “Everybody, starting right with Gale and her family, are such genuine, caring people.” Jocelyn was an active volunteer at the Aunt Leah’s Gallery on Marine Drive when it was in operation. She enjoyed the contact with the young people as well as seeing the local creations. She also worked with training young people in the coffee cart and helped to look after the garden at the Gallery.

On the subject of the Aunt Leah’s Society’s work with teen mothers, Jocelyn says, “These girls are probably vulnerable and open to assistance because now they’ve got the responsibility of their baby.” She recognizes that “intervention at that early stage in a baby’s life could break the cycle of poverty.”

“Somebody cares about these girls – it might be for the first time. When you’ve got a baby,if somebody cares, I think it must touch them. If anytime they are going to change, that would be it,” says Jocelyn.

Walter adds that the relevance of programs like the Restaurant Training Program is another way that Aunt Leah’s serves the community. “The Restaurant Training Program gives young people an opportunity to get into the working community.” he says. “You can see the results right in your own neighbourhood.”

Written by Tracy Sherlock