An award for Pat Singleton
Will be recognized at Leadership Waterloo Region’s Fire and Ice Gala
WATERLOO REGION — As if it were yesterday, Pat Singleton can recall her first day entering the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank as an employee, rather than as a client.
“I remember pulling open the door … I said, ‘dear God do not let me forget what it was like to have to use this food bank,’” she said in an interview on Thursday.
Twenty-four years later, 70-year-old Singleton is two months away from retiring from her role as executive director. And this Saturday, she’s being recognized for her service to the community at Leadership Waterloo Region’s 15th annual Fire and Ice Gala.
At the fundraiser gala, she will be presented with the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Club of Kitchener Conestoga.
“She just exemplifies what a leader is,” said Tony Denison, Rotarian and chair of the gala.
“They are humble, they work hard, they do for the betterment of the community; she’s in it for everybody else.”
While Singleton is incredibly grateful for the honour, she does find it hard to accept praise.
“I struggle with things like that a bit,” she said. “You’re not who you are because of who you are; it’s because of all the things that are part of your life and the people who walked your journey with you.”
When Singleton was in her early 40s, single, with four sons, she had to seek assistance from the Cambridge food bank.
“I was working a couple of jobs and trying to upgrade my education,” she explained.
Eventually, she secured a contract position with the food bank to work as a community outreach officer. She was responsible for building the public profile of the organization and bringing in more donations.
Three months after her contract had ended the food bank reached out to her.
“I got a phone call from the chair of the board asking me how I felt about the food bank and did I have any interest in going to work there in the morning,” she said. She did. Singleton served as interim executive director and was eventually hired into the role permanently — a role she’s held for more than two decades.
In that time she’s seen a lot of changes;
some good and some bad.
“The demographics of people using the food bank has changed,” said Singleton. “When I went (to use the food bank) we had very few seniors.”
Now, there are more seniors needing the service. There are also more unemployed people needing assistance for longer stretches of time than in the past.
“I wish we were farther along with the eradication of poverty,” she said. “Once you’re in it, it’s very hard to get out without proper housing and food and shelter, job and income.”
“At the end of the day, if 800 families or 1,200 families are using the food bank in a month, then you know we still have a fair bit of work to do.”
On the positive side of things, Singleton said grants and donations have increased. Businesses are more supportive and the organization receives a lot more fresh produce than it ever has.
Singleton can also recall a number of positive stories from former clients of the food bank.
In fact, she received a call last year from a woman who relied on the help of the organization decades ago.
At the time, this woman was single, had lost her job and had two young children to care for. She called Singleton recently to give her an update on her family. Her son now has his own business and a son of his own and her daughter was hired as a nurse at a local hospital.
The call really stands out for Singleton.
On March 30, Singleton will work her last shift at the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank. The centre has yet to announce her replacement. Tickets to Saturday’s fundraiser gala at Bingemans can be purchased by calling 519-742-7338. Money raised will go to support leadership development programming.