Faces of WEST
Lisa Kolody
WindsorEssex Community Foundation – Executive Director
“If you surround yourself with allies who see your worth and help you do more, you will achieve anything you choose to explore and do in life.”
- Tell us about yourself.
My name is Lisa Kolody. I have lived in Windsor-Essex my entire life and worked in healthcare, health promotion and community service. For the last 10 years I have been at the WindsorEssex Community Foundation which allows me to support the community by investing, bringing community together and promoting what makes Windsor-Essex a great community to live work and play. We love to explore Windsor-Essex parks, restaurants, markets and wineries and venture to Detroit as well. We are so thankful to live in a border community. - What does WEST mean to you?
WEST is an organization that I have known and appreciated since I worked at the Multicultural Council of Windsor. As a child of newcomers, I understand and value the work of all our newcomer agencies, and WEST has a special focus on women and employment that makes their work essential to the success of families. WECF continues to support the staff, volunteers and clients of WEST. Their work to elevate women, build skills and support families is transformational. Supporting women and promoting enterprise ,skills and training is an important investment in our future. - What advice do you have for women striving to achieve their dreams?
My advice to women to achieve their dreams is to believe in yourself and surround yourself with people , especially other women, who will support you and build you up. Often we are discouraged from tackling difficult situations or taking on more responsibilities, and I would suggest that you can do more than you know and to push yourself to conquer fear or self-doubt. If you surround yourself with allies who see your worth and help you do more, you will achieve anything you choose to explore and do in life. - In your opinion, what sets WEST apart in its approach to supporting women in the community?
WEST is an organization that I have known and appreciated since I worked at the Multicultural Council of Windsor. As a child of newcomers, I understand and value the work of all our newcomer agencies, and WEST has a special focus on women and employment that makes their work essential to the success of families. WECF continues to support the staff, volunteers and clients of WEST. Their work to elevate women, build skills and support families is transformational. Supporting women and promoting enterprise, skills and training is an important investment in our future. - Describe the collaboration between your organization and WEST. How does this partnership contribute to achieving shared goals and objectives?
WECF and WEST have worked together for a number of years in supporting women. As we faced and moved past a global pandemic, we recognized that women and families were heavily affected, and with support from national partners and our government, we were able to provide financial supports for our most vulnerable, as well as support the organization in strengthening their systems. Our charities play an important role in the community and its important to recognize the charity and all the staff who support community every day. We have been proud to strengthen our community and our families with this important investment and support. WECF uses our Vital Signs program to determine our investments, and from this we support organizations that support building a sense of belonging, promote learning, build skills for work, and encourage mental health and wellbeing. We are honoured to support the mission of WEST and strengthen our community together, today and for tomorrow.
