Stepping down
Longtime leader of Extend-A-Family retiring after more than three decades at the helm
KITCHENER — For more than three decades Maria de Boer worked tirelessly to create a community where everyone belongs.
De Boer has been with Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region since nearly its inception, and has led the not-for-profit organization for just shy of 30 years.
“Foundational to us is building good relationships,” de Boer said.
Thankfully, she added, “this community is really responsive. They’ve been very good and receptive to us.”
Extend-A-Family has blossomed since its founding in 1981, as a grassroots effort by a group of families to develop friendships for their kids with developmental disabilities.
De Boer came on board a couple years later and was appointed executive director in 1988. Now 68, she is preparing to retire in the fall.
“It’s going to be hard. It’s always going to be a part of me.”
At the start, Extend-A-Family served 14 families. Today more than 1,700 children and adults are supported with a range of programs.
“I’m grateful that it’s evolved and I’m very aware there are a lot of people who contributed to make that happen. There’s a lot of visionaries on the staff,” de Boer said.
While de Boer is quick to point out Extend-A-Family is a team and “we did this
together,” longtime colleague Cathy Meyer says it was de Boer who shaped the organization.
“She’s always been the visionary, always looking out,” said Meyer, who has worked with de Boer for 25 years. “For her, all really does mean all.”
De Boer sees opportunities to get involved, connect and be a more integral part of the community, Meyer said. And she always has time for everybody from families to staff.
“She’s our heart and soul,” said Meyer, the program manager. “It’s going to be a huge change for us.”
De Boer is originally from the Netherlands and spent most of her childhood in Kitchener, but moving after she married into the Jane and Finch neighbourhood of Toronto. It’s there she got her first taste of community development while working at the community and family centre; far different from her previous work as a medical record librarian.
“I loved my time there. It was a diverse community. There was so many opportunities to get involved.”
When she and her husband moved to Waterloo Region and de Boer was hired at Extend-A-Family, she started social development studies at the University of Waterloo. Later she would go for a master’s in social work.
Her first job at Extend-A-Family was as a community co-ordinator, working to foster those friendships that were the organization’s foundational program.
Then the organization was approached by the province in the late ’80s to start a respite program. At first there were concerns about adding a paid service, but it became clear that was complementary to the friendship program.
“One was just as needed as the other,” de Boer said.
More programs continued to be added, responding to the needs of families. But always, de Boer said, staff take a close look at what they’re doing to ensure the impact is positive, not just the intentions.
“This is a very value-driven organization,” de Boer said.
She believes a new leader will bring new ideas, and feels good about the team she’ll be leaving at Extend-A-Family.
“They truly believe in belonging and inclusion,” de Boer said. “I think we have a good culture here.”
De Boer is looking forward to having more time to spend with her husband, grown children and grandchildren, as well as to pursue other opportunities in the community. For now, she’s busy working on the list of things she wants to accomplish before her long tenure at Extend-A-Family ends.
“My heart is so full of gratefulness and thankfulness to (have been) allowed this opportunity,” de Boer said. “I’ve just been so lucky.”