Jacqueline Fraser

London was not on the radar of Jacqueline and her family when she first looked at coming to Canada. The typical Vancouver and Toronto options were weighed, and as her husband wanted to continue studying, they eventually decided on London. Coming from a city with a population of six million people, Jacqueline was looking to escape the fast-paced, ever moving lifestyle that she was raised in, and find a good environment to raise their children. Jacqueline explains that she was looking for opportunities where people don’t discriminate.
“We fell in love with the country and my entire family moved to Canada.” She remains impressed by how cultured Canadians are. “A Canadian is someone who is very empathetic, who seeks to understand and look at the deeper issues or the deeper value of things. Canadians are not as quick to judge, not arrogant in comparison to neighbours and subtly patriotic. Being Canadian is also about acceptance.”
In 2007, she was forced her to give up her work after becoming very ill. As a hardworking individual, it was tough to have to lose that part of herself, and she took three years to grieve over it. Eventually, she decided if she was not able to remain in her work environment, she would make her neighbourhood her work environment, and began volunteering. “The last 10 years have been such a period of personal growth. I’ve learned that when one door closes another one does open. You may just not know it or you may have to wait but it does open for you and there’s more to life than the four walls of a building; work can come in different ways.”
Jacqueline pushed herself out of her comfort zone, and as a new immigrant she thinks that’s just what you have to do. You have to be willing to put yourself out there, as success comes in different forms. She says that she’s never been happier than in the position she is in now.
“The big differences are that I feel that what I do [now] is out of my heart, out of passion and of interest. I’m not giving for a pay cheque but I am on a mission to change the attitudes towards volunteers; volunteering is a Canadian way of life.”
Jacqueline’s favourite part of Canadian culture: is the culture of giving back and volunteering.

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