Contributed by St. James Town Community Corner (The Corner). Vickie will be remembered for her many outstanding contributions to St. James Town. As a proud resident of this community she assumed leadership in several initiatives that supported her neighbourhood.
Vickie was a planner and organizer extraordinaire who loved her community passionately. In 1992 she started the Bleecker Wellesley Activity Network working with a raft of volunteers to provide meals and general supports to seniors. Holiday meals were huge events feeding hundreds of people over the years. Funding for this Network was mostly generated through donations and partnerships that Vickie sourced mainly through her indomitable spirit. Formal funding recognition was finally achieved in 2005.
In 2007, Vickie became a founding member of the St. James Town Community Corner, now known as The Corner. She was instrumental in ensuring that the design of the space was wheelchair accessible and that programs and services were prioritized to St. James Town residents. She remained on the governance Steering Committee advocating for strong leadership representation from St. James Town until her death. She and her organization Bleecker Wellesley Activity Network are part of the St. James Town Service Provider’s Network
What Vickie will mostly be remembered for was her fierce advocacy for seniors, people with disabilities, and people who could not stand up for themselves. Throughout the pandemic and despite her own health challenges she ensured that vulnerable seniors had access to meals, groceries and other supports.
She had a keen sense of what was right and wrong and had little patience for barriers or what she might consider bureaucratic stonewalling around making things right. You did not want to be on the wrong side of an argument with Vickie. She was not a sentimental person but sensitive to the needs of others and determined to get the job done.
Vickie’s cheerful “hello” and her frustrated “oh crap” as she whizzed to and from events and home on her scooter will be a lasting echo of her spirit in St. James Town for a long time to come.
