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Threads of Life families call for better safety for young workers
2022 seems like an ideal time to be a student or young worker looking for a job. There are ‘help wanted’ signs everywhere, and employers are desperate to fill vacant positions. First job opportunities are a great chance to grow, and it’s vital that health and safety is the first thing new and young workers learn. Sadly, for some employers, it’s not even on the list.
Make the call now — It’s Visit Your Relatives Day
A day turns into a week, which turns into a month quickly. Before you know it too much time has passed and you haven’t seen your loved ones since the last holiday get together. Or what happens when too much time has passed, and it becomes too late?
The ripples of kindness: An experiment
Kindness is an under-rated quality. It seems simple enough, but is actually much more involved and more complex than you can imagine. Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts a person.
Imagining a wonderful world
Here we are once more marking Safety and Health Week. Companies and organizations across Canada, the United States and Mexico come together to create awareness of workplace safety. One question that’s always on my mind: Why do we need a special day or a special week? Every day is about promoting a safe and healthy work environment for all workers. Imagine that world for a moment. Remember the song by Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World this would be.
This is my Day of Mourning
Following a workplace tragedy, many families would say that every day is a day of mourning. It’s especially true in the early days following a fatality, but the aftermath of a serious injury or an occupational illness, too, are filled with grief at the loss of life, of expectations, of hopes, of an imagined future.
Volunteering – Empathy in Action
Empathy is defined as the ability to understand how people feel, see things from their point of view and imagine yourself in their position. While empathy isn’t officially one of Threads of Life’s core values, it certainly is an integral part of what drives the organization, and what motivates many of our volunteers and supporters.
One big Steps for Life family
Jim and Pam have a big family – six children. As Pam explains, they chose that together, imagining the games, the meals, the graduations, the weddings, the grandkids. Jim was the type of dad who would send loving text messages to his daughters.
FamiliesConnect: Ways our Loved Ones Stay Connected
The FamiliesConnect Workshop Series continues to grow as more families sign in each month. The flexibility of an online session is unparalleled -- especially as a newcomer to Threads of Life. Choose to engage as little or much as you like, camera on or off, type in...
Helping you help families through Steps for Life fundraising
Fundraising for Steps for Life has definitely evolved over the years, from door-to-door asks to phone calls, to posting our personal fundraising page links on social media. What’s constant is your passion for supporting families of workplace tragedy, and ability to move with the trends.
Biographical disruption: When a chronic illness diagnosis changes you forever
by Kasey Boehmer, Ph.D., M.P.H., NBC-HWC, Reprinted with permission from Mayo Clinic Press Heidi’s main fear was just realized; the doctor has informed her that — without a doubt — she has rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Gone is the hope that this wasn’t a serious disease,...
What it means to value health and safety on the farm
I was helping my husband hook the square baler up to the tractor. I needed to get around on the other side to remove a block from the jack stand. We were in a hurry – you’re often in a hurry on a farm – the forecast was calling for rain later in the day and we had hay to bale and load into the barn before it got soaked and spoiled.
Volunteer Profile: Elaine Mailman
In Stellarton, Nova Scotia, on January 14, 1952, John Mailman died in a coal mine gas explosion. His son was only 18 months old. The community rallied around his widow, providing support in any way they could, but Elaine Mailman wishes that an organization like Threads of Life had been available to support her grandmother at the time. Elaine says, “There would have been a disconnect on the emotional level of how to support her … she would have benefited from an organization like this. I’ll be dedicated to an organization like this, because she was amazing, and I don’t know what my life would have been like had my dad’s life been different, had his dad still been there”.
