In 1936, Dorothy had never seen a soup kitchen.
In 1936, Dorothy had never seen a soup kitchen.
Visiting from England, she explored Victoria and discovered the ‘Sunshine Inn’ on Pandora Avenue. Not actually an inn but Victoria’s only operational soup kitchen, it was a place where people who cared were making a very real difference in the community by providing hot meals to those who found themselves homeless and out of work. Dorothy thought it remarkable that this community cared enough to look after its own.
After surviving World War II in England as a factory worker and beginning a music career, Dorothy wanted to make a new start in a new country. She came to Canada in 1960 and became a music teacher, making a difference one child at a time.
Making a difference became her passion, and she looked for other ways to become involved in her community. She became a Girl Guide leader, encouraging young women to develop skills in leadership, loyalty and service. She also lent her musical talent as an accompanist to many children’s choirs throughout Victoria.
And then the unthinkable happened.
When Dorothy was diagnosed with cancer in 1984 she began to consider the future. She was making a difference today, but what about tomorrow? She wanted to help support this community that had become her home and she also wanted to leave a legacy for the future. She remembered the Sunshine Inn, and the people there who had cared enough to make a difference.
Dorothy didn’t know it, but it was in that very soup kitchen, during the darkest days of the Depression, that the Victoria Foundation was born. The man who ran the Sunshine Inn knew his community could be improved by an organization with a solid source of funds that would provide support to charities across all sectors.
These many years later, Dorothy learned about the Victoria Foundation. She discovered its humble beginnings in a soup kitchen, and the gift that started it all: $20 from a widow who believed she could make a difference. Seventy-five years later, the Victoria Foundation still stewards that first gift – and the many others that followed.
Dorothy decided the Victoria Foundation’s mission, connecting people who care with causes that matter®, fit exactly with her own. She established a Donor Advised fund at the Foundation that would, in her lifetime, benefit the charities in the community that reflected her wide range of interests.
Dorothy lost her 22 year battle with cancer in 2006 but she left a tremendous legacy for her community. The residue of her Estate will be a permanent gift to her Fund at the Victoria Foundation. It will ensure that year after year, in perpetuity, the 15 Victoria charities that she designated will benefit from her generosity. From arts and education to the environment and healthcare, Dorothy made a lasting difference indeed.
