Helping out is in their DNA
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Giving back is just as important to Sangeetha Nair and Hannah Lank today as it was 10 years ago.
Nair and Lank were two of the first people I wrote about when I took over this column in April 2014.
I wondered what they are up to today, so I contacted them.
When I spoke with Nair for my second column, her volunteer work had just earned her an award from the premier.
Four months earlier, her advocacy for anti-bullying initiatives, mental health and cancer support, as well as a variety of other causes had landed her on local radio personality Ace Burpee’s list of the “100 most fascinating Manitobans for 2013.”
In recent years, Nair has shifted her volunteer efforts to serving on the boards at Peer Connections Manitoba (formerly the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society), Riverview Health Centre Foundation and the Manitoba Theatre for Young People.
The 43-year-old also chairs the business program advisory committee at the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology.
Nair made a conscious choice to pursue board roles as she transitioned in her professional career from middle management to upper management.
She emigrated from Malaysia in 2009, which is one of the reasons she pursues board positions.
“Being a person of colour… I feel representation is important,” she says. “When you look at boards, they’re often comprised very heavily of males and very few females, or they’re not racially diverse. Having representation is important for the organization and also the cause itself.”
Volunteering is a way for Nair to share the things she has learned so others can benefit.
“I feel (my) experiences can be almost a road map for other immigrants, and I feel that by being in positions of leadership, I’ll have more opportunities to share those lessons and that information with people,” she says.
When I spoke with Lank for my fourth column, she was a straight-A student in Grade 11 at Kelvin High School.
Her life-threatening allergy to peanuts and tree nuts inspired her to volunteer as a member of the youth advisory panel to Food Allergy Canada (formerly Anaphylaxis Canada), a Toronto-based non-profit dedicated to helping Canadians who have food allergies.
Lank was named a Loran Scholar for her academic success and community involvement. The annual program gives high-potential students mentorship opportunities and $100,000 toward their undergraduate studies. Lank enrolled at the University of Toronto, where she earned a degree in English and psychology before moving on to law school.
While at U of T, Lank started the university’s history society, a club that researched and shared the university’s history from a student perspective.
The Loran scholarship allowed Lank to pursue volunteer opportunities during the summer breaks when she might otherwise have had to work to make money for school.
She spent one summer volunteering in Toronto at a baseball camp for children with disabilities, and another summer in New York City teaching soccer and poetry to young people.
“Loran was fantastic; it just changed my whole life,” says Lank, 26. “It was all about meaningful risks, pursuing different interests and giving back.”
She still lives in Toronto where she practises family law.
Lank volunteers a couple of times a month by offering free legal advice at the 519, a non-profit that serves Toronto’s LGBTTQ+ community.
“I find that really, really meaningful,” she says.
If you know a special volunteer, email aaron.epp@gmail.com.
