Grace Kidd learned to give back at a young age thanks in part to the devotion her family has to the Midland, Ontario community they helped found in 1871. Her family has been a pillar in the Georgian Bay region; helping found or support to many charities in the area; a vision and commitment Grace continues to this day.
“My family was not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but we were told that you had to give something,” shares Grace. “If you had both time and money, give both. But if you only had time, that was equally as valuable.” Kidd, a REALTOR® and the broker and owner of Realty Executives On The Bay Inc., Brokerages, gives both to charities across the Lakelands Region.
<iframe width="100%" height="385" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WzJ4Lln18q8?si=g-z4e9hBWs36WmSp" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>As a proud descendant and band member of the Garden River First Nations, Kidd also saw the disparity of support and quality of life between the Indigenous populations and their fellow Canadians. That’s why every one of the charities that she supports also supports the Indigenous community.
“Grace is involved with Wendat Community Programs, the Guesthouse Shelter, Chigamik Community Health Center, Martyrs’ Shrine, Wye Marsh, Community Living Huronia, Georgian Bay General Hospital, and the Georgian Bay Food Network,” says Andrea Abbott-Kokosin, Executive Director of Wendat Community Programs . “She has literally touched almost every local nonprofit organization and helped in some way.”
Since 1996, Grace has helped lead and personally supported Wendat, working to make certain that funding for high quality day and residential care and support to adults with mental illness and age-related challenges is available to the region, and that it’s responsive to the needs of the local First Nations and Métis residents.
During the pandemic, Wendat was struggling with the loss of event funds and rising costs of personal protective equipment. When their fledgling endowment fund was at risk of not raising the required start-up capital, Kidd went above and beyond her role as Board Member by personally committing $5000 to ensure the much-needed financial safety net’s creation.
“The endowment fund is really to ensure the legacy of Wendat will continue,” Grace explains. “We have less and less funding coming from the government, therefore an endowment fund will allow them to take the interest out of anything that’s in that fund and use that to run the organization.”
Since day one, the Georgian Bay Food Network (GBFN) has also experienced this level of support and leadership, thanks to Grace Kidd.
“Grace has been a very integral part of starting the Georgian Bay Food Network and getting it to where it is,” says GBFN Founder and Executive Director, Alexandria Hamlin. “Not only was she our first supporter individually, but also, through her business, she was our first major contributor.”
Having grown up in Midland, Hamlin spent her childhood seeing Grace as both an inspiration for how community members can give back, and as a strong Indigenous figure and mentor.
In 2020, when she came up with the idea to start a food bank designed around the ideals of dignity, autonomy, and personal nutrition choices, she reached out to Kidd around the logistics required to set the charity up for success. True to form for this Canadian REALTORS Care® Award 2023 nominee, Grace’s support didn’t stop at advice.
Her efforts have expanded to include everything from personally painting a full wall mural [AN2] within the space, rallying the local REALTOR® community during the Lakeland Association of REALTORS® Annual Turkey Drives, sponsoring key fundraisers like Midland’s Got Talent in support of their mission, and running a donation matching campaign that raised $10,000 for the charity.
It’s that internal drive to do more that makes Kidd a pivotal figure in her community, inspiring many to find their own ways to give. “I think giving is my love language. I would say that. So, I love it when other people do it too,” reflects Grace. “I really am just proud that I am able to both donate my time and money to very worthwhile causes within the community and being a REALTOR® has allowed me to do that.”
