On March 11th, the Women’s Centre Basic Needs Coordinator Carolina Dalgleish received the Hadassah Ksienski Distinguished Service Award from Immigrant Services Calgary! Every year, Immigrant Services honours a handful of Calgary’s hardest working immigrants through the Immigrants of Distinction Awards.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes people who have “demonstrated leadership, innovation, dedication and a spirit of compassion in the areas of immigrant services, program development, administration and/or advocacy.”
Carolina’s nomination letter highlights clearly why she was chosen:
“Carolina is the type of person who can transform a room with her laughter, abundant joy, and caring personality. She facilitates positive change in others, and her favourite saying is ‘It’s all good.’
When the recession hit in the ’90s Carolina lost her job, along with many other professionals. She became a volunteer at Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association and later at the Women’s Centre. Unaware that this involvement would change her life and become her calling, Carolina found her volunteerism slowly turning into a full-time career. At the Women’s Centre, Carolina was sought out by many women because she spoke Spanish. In no time, women came from all over to see Carolina at the Women’s Centre. Humorously, her colleagues compared her to Britney Spears – a victim of her own success – her support so valued in the community that she could barely manage the work load.
Carolina is also a member of the Immigrant Advisory Table – a group of individuals passionate about building Calgary as a welcoming community. As a dedicated member of this team she helped create their three-year strategic plan.
Carolina and her family left Chile due to political instability when she was a young girl, arriving to Canada in the early ’70s when little help was available for newcomers. As the oldest child, Carolina took on a great responsibility by helping her parents navigate their new homeland. It’s because of dedicated workers like Carolina that these critical services for new immigrants exist.”