Director's Report June 2020-2021

Presented by Jennifer Mallmes and Elaine Macdonald

June 2, 2021

This Directors’ Report has been a collaborative endeavour from Jennifer Mallmes and Elaine Macdonald. Over the last year, we have seen unprecedented growth in our Association. Your Board is a small group of passionate individuals volunteering their time for this beautiful and ambitious purpose of raising the standard of end of life care. We believe the growth of the Association is so much more than a reflection of our efforts; as we move through the second year of a devastating pandemic our growth is also a reflection of the reality that covid has revealed many unmet needs around dying, death and grief.

This year we have been more active than ever as we seek to bring learning to members and supporters that is relevant, helpful and meaningful. Monthly events, book club, grief circles and peer mentoring are some examples of our presentations. We continue to strengthen our research endeavours and are working with Project Manager Anita Chui to develop a robust road map that identifies key stakeholders and processes by which we can succeed. Jennifer has completed the United Way Public Policy Program and, supported by Elaine, continues to evolve our Policy & Procedure Manual for it to both reflect and shape our actions towards our goal of raising the standard of end of life care and ensuring that all Canadians have the opportunity to receive appropriate care at end of life.

We plan on continuing to be active in bringing our members and supporters learning that is aligned with our mission and vision and that is responsive to members’ and supporters’ needs. While we are passionate, we recognise that we cannot do this without you, our members and supporters. We know that you are like us in that you seek to be of service. We also know that there is a wealth of skills and talents amongst our members and supporters - so we are already looking to you to step up and bring your gifts, passion and compassion to the table. Even as the pandemic crisis continues, we are excited for the next year and to be working alongside you.

With regrets, we said goodbye to Meghan Morgan our treasurer and Tracy Chalmers. Tracy is a founder member and has shared her passion for EOLD as a board member for the last 4 years.  We are welcoming Dr. Linda Franchi to the board.  Linda (Frankie) brings over 20 years of board and leadership experience and we are so excited to have her join us.  We also welcome Sue Philips who brings many years of Doula and business experience and Holly McNicol who practices as both a Birth Doula and End of Life Doula and has great skills in working with others to make great things happen.

Jennifer Mallmes and Elaine Macdonald

Past President and President of the End of Life Doula Association of Canada