Impact Stories
Stronger Military Families
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Central Saskatchewan Military Family Resource Centre (CSMFRC) has been hosting My True Power workshops since 2020, providing military families a chance to expand their support networks and improve skills that assist with the demands and uncertainties of life in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). And to top it all off, these important events have also …
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He was the kind of kid other camps may have sent home. April Young (camp nickname: Calypso) is the director of Camp Maple Leaf, a summer camp for the children of Canadian military families, both active and Veteran. On the first night of camp, long after lights-out, April was called to one of the cabins …
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Simply by asking questions and collecting data, research can be a powerful engine of positive change. With the support of donors across the country, True Patriot Love has developed a long term partnership with the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR). Our commitment of $5 million to support the development of cutting-edge …
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A 5-6-7-8! If you were part of the Sharing Dance with Veteran Families project, here’s how it might start. The instructor says: “I’m going to introduce myself and make a circular movement with my arms—I’m feeling very excited and happy to be here so I’m making an explosive movement and adding some jazz hands. When …
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Imagine being a teen and learning that your family is moving across the country for a new armed forces posting. Again. Imagine how tense and sad you’d feel leaving your home, your friends, your favourite places to hang out. Imagine your anxiety as you start over at a new school. Again. Imagine not seeing your …
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The Fondation québécoise des Vétérans | Québec Veterans Foundation’s (FQV-QVF) Veterans and Family Program provides Veterans, their spouses, and children access to innovative programs and safe spaces where they can be themselves, breathe, and reenergize during challenging times created by a difficult transition to civilian life. “When someone wears the uniform, their whole family serves …
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Celebrating its third year in 2024, My True Power is a family-friendly workshop focusing on mental health, perseverance, and resiliency within the military community, while also creating community connections between people in and out of uniform. This year, Central Saskatchewan Military Family Resource Centre (CSMFRC) planned the workshop for January to coincide with the “Bell …
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Prince Edward Island Military Family Resource Centre (PEI MFRC) has a long standing history of providing military and Veteran families with support in their times of need. For Christine Gordon Manley’s family, that support has proved vital. A self-employed editor who works from home, Christine has been married to Major Allan Manley for 16 years, …
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Camp Maple Leaf is a non-profit camp for children of Canadian military families and children living with unique challenges. Beyond that however, it is a place that children can call “home base”. Centered around providing children with a place of connection and support, Camp Maple Leaf hosts a variety of sessions that target a number …
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Ben Miller joined the military 6 months after his twin brother in 2004. This was partially due to sibling rivalry but also because he wanted a challenge. However, his brother wasn’t the only military member in the family. Ben’s family is full of military members — Ben grew up listening to stories of his great-grandfather …
Well-being and Mental Health
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Thanks to support from the Bell True Patriot Love Fund, the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) has been able to expand its PTSD Service Dog program, allowing them to match more individuals with highly trained service dogs. Service dogs can be instrumental in transforming lives, helping Veterans and first responders living with PTSD regain their …
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“’What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ is so not true. It’s the opposite. It actually makes you more susceptible every time.” – Shane Nedohin, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 17, 2024 Master Corporal (ret.) Shane Nedohin served as an Assaulter in Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), the Canadian military’s Tier 1 hostage rescue and counter-terrorism unit. …
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“Suicide rocks a community,” says Judith Chance, Fund Development Manager at 4 Wing Military Family Resource Centre Society. “It’s devastating. People ask, ‘Why didn’t I see this?’” Suicide has far-reaching impacts even beyond the profound shock and grief experienced by family and friends. A recent study cited by the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families …
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Frequent moves, training and deployments that take the serving parent from home are a part of military family life. But they can increase the risk factors for mental health issues for their non-serving parents and children. Access to mental health care is a concern for military families across Canada. While serving members of the Canadian …
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“It’s a basic human need to be heard and to listen. It matters to people as we live in these increasingly isolated bubbles,” says Graham Abbey, co-founder of the Creative Warrior program, an award-winning actor-director and the founder of Groundling Theatre Company. He works with Creative Warrior co-founder Karen Williamson, a therapist trained in PTSD …
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Fondation québécoise des Vétérans | Québec Veterans Foundation (FQV-QVF) is a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to organizations that aim to help Veterans across Québec during their transition to civilian life. Their primary area of focus is related to operational stress injuries, physical and mental health, challenges associated with addiction, and depression. They provide …
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Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Kernaghan served in the Canadian Armed Forces and in Special Operations as a combat engineer. He was deployed to Bosnia as part of Operation Palladium and to Afghanistan as part of Operation Athena. In August 2024, he will be retiring from the CAF after nearly four decades of service. In 2023, Kernaghan took …
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Anouk joined the 3rd Field Engineer Regiment in Westmount in 2000, serving as a Combat Engineer. Anouk deployed to Bosnia in 2002 with 5th Engineer Regiment, where she was the victim of a jeep accident while on a mission. She then joined an Information Operation unit based on CFB Longue Pointe in 2004, where she …
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As a small-town girl living in Northern Saskatchewan, Master Corporal (Retired) Natalie Forcier was initially attracted to the idea of joining the Canadian military because it offered a chance to travel, explore, and of course, serve her country. Little did she know that her time in the military would take her on a 14-year journey …
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With support from the Bell True Patriot Love Fund, Hope + Me Mood Disorders Association of Ontario and Toronto (Hope + Me-MDAO) launched WRAP® and Peer Support for Veterans and Their Families (WPSVF), a three-part program designed to help Veterans and their families in Ontario manage mental health challenges and feel more connected to the …
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The Canadian Mental Health Association York Region and South Simcoe (CMHA – YRSS) in Ontario offers over 30 specialized mental health programs and services to over 17,000 individuals per year. It has a team of 350+ staff that includes psychotherapists, social workers, occupational therapists, peer support specialists, nurse practitioners and many other caring mental health …
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The Veterans Transition Network delivers group counselling designed specifically for Veterans to overcome trauma, improve mental health and well-being, strengthen families, stabilize employment, and aid the transition from service to civilian life. “Veterans come into our programs struggling with PTSD, anxiety and depression. They’re often experiencing significant difficulty adjusting to life outside the military,” said …
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For over 35 years, Pacific Assistance Dog Society (PADS) has been breeding, raising, training and placing assistance dogs with people with disabilities and with community care professionals working in an array of settings from schools to hospitals to courtrooms. PADS began its PTSD Service Dog Program in 2018. While PTSD is complicated to treat and …
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From separations and deployments to the threat of injury or death, military families routinely face stresses that can take a significant toll on individual and family mental health. Once a death notification reaches the family, life is forever changed and viewed as “before and after”. While the loss has an impact on the immediate family …
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Team Rubicon was inspired by the idea that veterans can continue to serve by leveraging skills, training and experience gained through military service to support disaster response. Team Rubicon initially sought to build on two thoughts: charitable disaster relief needs to be faster to anticipate and respond effectively to humanitarian needs, and veteran reintegration into …
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Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, Landing Strong It was September of 2020 when Paul Vardy (Ret’d Captain Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Officer), decided to join group therapy with the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia’s Landing Strong program. The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia is one of the 2021 recipients of the Bell …
Rehabilitation and Recovery
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FRANCESCA’S STORY: JOURNEY TO THE 2025 INVICTUS GAMES “Just thinking about competing for Team Canada gives me goosebumps! It’s the honour of my life to represent Canada at the 2025 Invictus Games. I’m competing in alpine skiing, skeleton, rowing, and wheelchair volleyball. I’ve always been an athlete and I’m so excited to wear the …
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About Face is a fun and interactive workshop series created exclusively for Canadian Armed Forces members, families and Veterans. And because of your amazing support, it is offered completely for free! It’s a way of using the arts to reach out and inspire creative expression, storytelling and, ultimately, healing. Right now, we are exploring …
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Thanks to your support, and the support of the Bell True Patriot Love Fund, True Patriot Love can provide funding for Comrades in Wellbeing, a vital mental health program for Veterans. Adjusting and rebuilding after serving After serving, many Veterans find coming back to their communities and staying connected to be challenging. For Veterans facing …
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International media were buzzing. Not only was Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, visiting the training camp of the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 Presented by ATCO and Boeing, but he was also trying some of the adaptive sports that wounded, injured or ill athletes would be competing in at the 2025 Games. After flying down …
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Meet Alaina Mundy There is a cliché that says showing up is not good enough. But for Alaina Mundy and others who competed in the Invictus Games in the fall, showing up was everything. “You need to be brave enough to stand up in front of the world and just show up,” said the local …
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MEET BARB PIERCE You may not know Barb Pierce but you probably know her artwork from True Patriot Love’s website: her evocative water colour of a sapling bending under the weight of fresh snow is our newest holiday ecard selection. For Pierce, the image of a sapling in snow speaks to hope, of bending but …
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Meet Erin The magic to our cream-filled croissants is the right ratio of croissant and filling. Ours has been perfected and we are always rotating flavours and trying new things: this week is Nutella, my personal favourite is lemon. My husband Sean and I run this bakery ourselves: he does the baking and back-of-house and …
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Meet Erica I was a soldier for 25 years with specialty qualifications in combat diving, parachuting, and mountain operations. Going underwater to blow things up. Jumping out of planes to go blow things up. Instructor in Combat Diving, Urban Operations, and Close Quarter Combat. I’ve done tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti. I’ve been first …
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Growing Up As children we grow up with aspirations we hold dear, things we’d like to accomplish when we’re older. For Desi Cozier, this dream became a reality when he joined the Navy as a weapons engineer. He thought about joining the military before, but didn’t know how. During his search for an electronic engineering …
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Dave Carney served in the military from 1963 to 1991 as a military engineer, before retiring at the rank of Colonel. Following that, he served in the federal government for 12 years and then consulted for another five years before retiring. He recalls his years in the military as being some of the most …
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Natalie Lela Madeline Pye-Keenan served in the Canadian Army as a Mobile Support Equipment Operator with postings in Gagetown, Borden, and Petawawa. Natalie competed in the Invictus Games in The Hague. I was a last-minute addition to the team roster in the Invictus Games and I hadn’t met any of the other competitors until training …
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Jeremy Blair joined the military at 23 in search of meaning and purpose. During his 23-year military career, he served in the infantry and went on five deployments, including Kosovo in 1999; CFS Alert in 2001-2002; and completed three tours in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2007. Despite the heartbreaking outcome in Afghanistan, he was proud …
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Commander (retired) James Strickland comes from a military family. His great-grandfather was a pilot in WWI, before Canada had an Air Force, and survived after being shot down in France. His father, and his father’s brother, bravely served in WWII. James joined the CAF in 1986. Over time, his career took him on a progressively …
Connecting with Community
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The Captain Nichola Goddard Women in Leadership roundtable concluded its three-city series, bringing 75 people together in Calgary on April 30 for an evening of insight, inspiration and frank conversation about military leadership from a female perspective. Now in its sixth year, the Women in Leadership event is named in honour of Captain Nichola Goddard, …
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As part of our Veteran Volunteerism Initiative, True Patriot Love is proud to partner with Team Rubicon Canada, a Veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. Serving communities on their worst day Headquartered in Mississauga, ON, Team Rubicon Canada has 21 full-time employees and over 3,300 volunteers across …
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True Patriot Love Foundation welcomes Perley Health as one of seven partners in its new Veteran Volunteerism Initiative (VVI), a three-year program designed to draw upon the skills and experience of Veterans to aid challenges and meet needs in their communities. Perley Health is a unique and innovative community that empowers Seniors and Veterans to …
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Trauma from adverse childhood experiences can last a lifetime, and without early intervention, can define a lifetime. But we can help prevent the physical and mental effects that childhood trauma can lead to. At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto (BBBST), Littles (mentees) are carefully matched with a caring, consistent Big (mentor), and start a …
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Calling all Montreal-area Veterans! Camp Aftermath invites you to an unforgettable experience that combines volunteerism, personal growth, and community service – a transformative personal journey that also makes a positive impact on others. Camp Aftermath is one of seven new partners in True Patriot Love’s Veteran Volunteerism Initiative, bringing its unique, purpose-driven volunteer program to …
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Every day volunteers are needed across Canada to run activities, manage programs and execute the mission of tens of thousands of community organizations, big and small, in person or online – from homework clubs and food hubs, to disaster response and hospitals. Pandemic lockdowns were devastating to many community organizations and the people they served …
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More than 200 guests met in Ottawa on March 19 and Toronto on March 21 for an evening of inspiration and great conversations at the annual Captain Nichola Goddard Women in Leadership series. Now in its sixth year, the series features panel discussions with current servicewomen and women Veterans – wide-ranging conversations about military and …
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What Is Soldiers in Tech? Soldiers in Tech aims to help Veterans transition to civilian life by providing them with technical skills, training workshops and courses. Once Veterans have completed the program, they’ll be job-ready and will be connected to employment opportunities in their areas of training. The Roland Gossage Foundation partners with Lighthouse Labs …
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Finding Support Jay Renaud enlisted in the CAF at 17 and served for 13 years. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 where an IED injured him and took the lives of two of his crewmates. Despite being injured, he provided lifesaving first aid to another crewmate. Jay received the Medal of Military Valour by …
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“Our souls crave connection and belonging …” Are you familiar with the term ‘pepper potting’? It’s a military maneuver used when advancing for advancing toward the enemy. The idea is that when you move ahead, I cover you. And then I move ahead, and you cover me. Kind of like leap frogging. So no matter …