Nanny&Me

I often receive messages of gratitude from readers. If Nanny&Me helped your family, maybe saved you money on agency fees, or supported you in building a strong relationship with your nanny, then here is your chance to pay it forward. I don’t make money from Nanny&Me; I don’t charge fees to access the resources that I’ve developed and I don’t have advertisements on my site. I developed Nanny&Me out of a desire to empower and support families in need. 

I am a firm believer in paying things forward and giving back, so rather than ever asking you for something for myself, I am going to ask you to give what you can to a charity that is near and dear to my heart. L’Arche is an organization that I have been involved with for over a decade. There is an upcoming bowlathon fundraiser for L’Arche Toronto with a goal of raising $45,000 to support the critical work that they do. I hope you’ll read and share my L’Arche story, and consider giving what you can, whether it be $10 or $100, it is all greatly appreciated.

MY L'ARCHE STORY...

Simply put, L’Arche changed my life.

My journey with L’Arche began a decade ago when a friend invited me to go for dinner at a L’Arche home in Toronto where she was living. I showed up to a house that appeared like any other, but what I found when I walked in the door was something completely unique; a home where people with and without developmental disabilities were living together, in community. At the dinner table, everyone shared not just in a meal, but in an experience, conveying their gratitude for the food that had been thoughtfully prepared (they made me a vegan dinner), and for one another’s company. The love and light around the dinner table was remarkable. There is something so uniquely transformative about experiencing L’Arche for the first time. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I suppose it’s like coming home, home to a place where you immediately belong, where you are welcomed in with open arms, and cherished for being you.

The experience inspired me so I made the decision to live in L’Arche. I was 19 and looking for adventure so I picked L’Arche Vancouver so that I could check out west coast living. I spent the next year of my life growing into the person that I had always wanted to become…someone who was thoughtful, patient, and deliberate, and someone who had a whole lot of fun. L’Arche brought tenderness into my life. L’Arche is not like other group homes, in fact L’Arche homes really aren’t “group homes” at all…they are homes in the truest definition of the word, where people live and share their lives together. The people who live in L’Arche homes eat together, play together, and sleep under one roof, moving through life side by side, and as part of a larger community, as part of something greater than themselves.

Fast forward 6 years to my nana’s passing. My aunt who has a developmental disability and lived with my nana, needed a new home. The stars must have aligned because my aunt was offered a place in L’Arche Toronto. My mom and I were floored, with a shortage of thousands of spaces for people with disabilities across Ontario, it was as if all of our dreams for my aunt were coming true. At a time so full of sadness, I watched L’Arche transform my aunt’s life; I watched her flourish. She became more active, developed a robust social life, starting attending a number of engaging programs, and participating in a range of activities. Soon my aunt’s calendar was more jam packed than mine, and she was thriving. Before moving into L’Arche my aunt struggled with a number of fears/anxieties that prevented her from participating in a lot of activities. L’Arche is a place that doesn’t so much force people past these types of fears, but invites them to let them go, and they have done a wonderful job of supporting my aunt in coping with some of these anxieties so that she can lead a more fulfilling life every day.

Fast forward another 4 years and my aunt is a valued member of a community, and I am working at L’Arche Toronto. My career has come full circle, having lived in L’Arche a decade ago, I have been able to return to share my experience and expertise in the non-profit sector in a stimulating role within the development office, helping to build the organization’s capacity to transform more lives.

And wouldn’t you know it that all these years later, my aunt is living in the very house that I ate supper in over a decade ago; the very house that inspired me to open my heart to L’Arche. L’Arche instilled in me the values and principles that I carried forward into my life (personally and professionally). I will be eternally grateful for what L’Arche has provided me, and one of the ways that I demonstrate this gratitude is by being a donor myself.

L’Arche changes thousands of lives worldwide (there are over 145 communities in 30 countries), and I am inviting you to be part of that change.