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Giving back is a proud family tradition

Feb. 14, 2024

Deb DeCaire fondly recalls many family gatherings with photocopies of charity event flyers spread around the living room with she and her sibling collecting and collating them together to help a deserving cause. It was fun, it brought them all together, and was always to help others.  

“I suppose my mom and dad have always done that,” she says. “They’ve consistently given back in some way. We were always doing something for others and that just got ingrained in us.”

Her partner, Steve Blanchet, also remembers having a strong give-back ethic instilled into him as a child. As a physician, his father was often out of the house taking care of patients and he spent a lot of time giving back to the community. “That became a lifestyle and was impressed upon us when we were very young,” he says. 

Giving back to the community is an integral part of who they are.

Deb also gives of her time as a volunteer including numerous committees at �鶹ֱ�� and has done so for years. This has included serving as an advisor to the Frontline Support: Health-care Heroes Closer to Home campaign designed to raise funds to upgrade classrooms and equipment inside the Dr. MaryLynn West Moynes Nursing and Wellness Wing at �鶹ֱ��’s Barrie Campus as part of introducing a new four-year Honours Bachelor of Nursing degree program that started in the fall of 2022.

Steve has been an integral part of fundraising campaigns at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH). Both are committed Rotarians and passionate community philanthropists.

Supporting �鶹ֱ�� just seems like a natural fit for us. The nursing program fits well with RVH and the efforts that have gone on there. It is very close to our hearts.

Deb DeCaire

The couple believe in demonstrating to their eight grandchildren, the importance of giving back to their community.

“The things that you do as parents or mentors, you’re never quite sure how that rubs off on other people,” adds Steve. “I mean, you do it because that’s what you want to do and it’s right. Hopefully they’ll pick up the message and carry on giving back to the community.”

Their love for their grandchildren compelled them to generously donate $100,000 to help renovate �鶹ֱ��’s pediatric nursing lab. Smiles light their faces as they talk about the impact the Deb DeCaire (Skipwith), Steve Blanchet and Families Pediatric Lab will have on future nurses and families throughout the region.

Although their family has been blessed with healthy children, as parents and grandparents, they’ve found themselves at the hospital over the years for minor ailments and injuries and always counted on the support of talented nurses.

They are excited that the new leading-edge technology and refreshed spaces will fully prepare students for their job placements and future careers.  

Thanks to funds raised, students now learn with access to high-fidelity manikins, state-of-the-art hospital beds, IV pumps, crash carts and clinical equipment in the pediatric lab.

“All the grandkids’ births were seamless – we were fortunate that way. What doesn’t necessarily get recognized is it’s seamless to us. There’s a lot of help, particularly on the nursing side, that goes into making it seamless,” adds Steve, “The nurses’ skill in bedside manners build your confidence and creates assurance. We’ve talked about the huge impact well-trained nursing makes to improving one’s experience.”

�鶹ֱ�� launched the Frontline Support: Health-care Heroes Closer to Home campaign in 2021 to raise funds to transform nursing learning environments and equipment at both the Barrie and Owen Sound campuses. The Frontline Support campaign also raised significant funds to establish new awards, bursaries and scholarships for nurses who will complete all four years of their Honours Bachelor of Nursing degree (BScN) program having started in September 2022.

“It was an easy story to share,” Deb says of the campaign. “You didn’t have to ‘sell’ it. You just shared what was going on and people engaged quickly.”