March 2001 - Caledon Institute of Social Policy
This edition of real leaders profiles one individual and
two groups who demonstrate that working together can make a difference in a
community. Carol Ann Cole raised more than $1 million for breast cancer
research by selling Comfort Hearts...
We
all know someone with a heart of gold. Well, Carol Ann Cole has a heart
of pewter. In fact, she has thousands of them.
The story begins in 1992 when Carol Ann and her mother were
diagnosed with breast cancer within weeks of one another. Until then, Carol Ann
was a Vice-President at Bell Canada and a self-described workaholic. Both women
underwent treatment but her mother died less than a year later. Carol Ann vowed
to fight the disease and lent support to the many cancer patients she had met
while receiving treatment. Upon her return to work at Bell, however, Carol Ann
began to feel that she no longer belonged in a business environment and decided
to try devoting herself to fighting cancer full time.
Carol Ann grew up in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, and
while visiting home on vacation, she stopped in at a store called
OceanArt Pewter. There, she
discovered "Worry Hearts," small pewter talismen designed to soothe the holder
in difficult times. "When I first saw them, I thought they would be such a
great treat for all the cancer patients whom I knew," Carol Ann comments. I
would give them the hearts and tell them to hold them while receiving
chemotherapy treatments and encourage them to think positive thoughts. I'd tell
them that I would try to send some positive energy when I held my own Worry
Heart. And it really caught on. People began to want them for reasons other
than cancer.
Carol Ann already had given away 117 hearts as gifts by the
time a friend suggested that she sell them to raise funds for cancer research.
"I began to think that maybe this was an opportunity to raise some money so I
went back to some of the survivors I'd given hearts to, just to make sure
they'd be comfortable with the idea. They were very happy about it and even
felt that they could be my best salespeople."
Carol Ann approached
OceanArt Pewter and asked them to be involved in the initiative. She wanted
them to repackage the hearts and change the name to "Comfort Hearts," as well as
slightly modify the design in order to accommodate a small hole which would
allow buyers to place their heart on a key chain or wear them as a pendant.
Linda Power, Vice-President of OceanArt, is herself a cancer survivor. She
explains: "`The disease has touched myself and my family, and we were looking
for a way to contribute, to raise some money for cancer research. We had
already taken on small projects, like selling suncatchers, but we really wanted
to do more."
When approached by Carol Ann,
OceanArt Pewter took the Worry Heart
off the market and began selling the Comfort Heart. And even now, five years
after the initiative was launched, Linda enthuses: "It's amazing how many people
are still calling in to place orders. The hearts have had a chain letter effect
- people receive one for themselves and then call to buy one for their friend."
Linda says that the largest single order was for 10,450 hearts, but the majority
of proceeds still come from individual orders.
The hearts sell for $10 each, and $6 from every sale goes
towards cancer research. Originally, Carol Ann worked exclusively with the
Canadian Cancer Society and to date, has raised more than $1 million. The
initiative generated a lot of interest from other organizations which also
wanted to sell the Comfort hearts. She explains: "I decided that it would be
wise to work with other groups that specifically research breast cancer, like
the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Rochester Breast Cancer Coalition
in the United States." The Rochester group has already sold almost 3,000 hearts.
This type of volunteer work kept Carol Ann busy for almost
five years as she contributed to the cancer community in her mother's memory.
Her regular activities included speaking engagements at various cancer-related
events, including being named the fall spokesperson for the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation in the Atlantic provinces.
Deborah Grant is the Executive Director of the Atlantic
chapter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The Foundation is the largest
national fundraising body for breast cancer research and programs that raise
awareness about the disease. "We are fortunate to have Carol Ann on board
because she has made people so much more aware of breast cancer, and she has
taken it upon herself to inform people about breast health and the importance of
doing a self-examination on a monthly basis. She has empowered a lot of women
by helping them to understand the importance of looking after your own body."
Deborah feels that the Comfort Heart initiative has
complemented the Foundation's traditional fundraising projects such as the
annual CIBC Run for the Cure. She continues: "Carol Ann is the easiest, most
delightful person to work with. She has an enormous amount of energy and is a
great communicator with absolutely everybody."
Last year, Carol Ann launched herself into the world of
professional speakers and started Colemind, her own speaking business. "I try
to balance my time between my company and my volunteer work: I now take on only
a few volunteer commitments a month."
Carol Ann greatly enjoys speaking and obtains work through
her corporate contacts and as a member of the Canadian Association of
Professional Speakers. She has developed several different motivational talks
and often speaks at conferences. Her most popular talk is one entitled "You're
all That" a presentation which encourages people to identify their personal
skills and gives them tips on how to become self-motivated.
"I've heard Carol Ann speak, says Linda Power, She's just
phenomenal to hear, She really touches peoples heart and she's sincere - people
open up to her, they come up to her and start talking as though they've know her
all their lives."
Carol Ann credits her networks and her partnerships for her
success. She notes that it is a misconception to conceive of partnerships only
as alliances between organizations. In fact, partnerships can be between two
individuals. "We're presented with a partnership opportunity almost every time
we meet someone. If it hadn't been for the corporate contacts I gained while I
was at Bell, I don't think I would have had the same level of success."
Ruth Foster is Associate Director of the Corporate
Philanthropy Program at Bell Canada. She explains that Carol Ann was one of the
highest regarded Vice-Presidents at Bell. AS VP of the Installation and Repair
Department, Carol Ann broke the mold by entering into a position that was not
traditionally considered to be a female role. Ruth muses: "A lot of us think
about and talk about how we can change things. But Carol Ann is one of those
people who has gone ahead and made a difference. It's remarkable what one
individual has been able to accomplish. This initiative has far exceeded the
potential we saw for it."
Bell is actively involved in the Comfort Heart project. The
company buys a large number of hearts annually and distributes them in various
ways. The medical staff at Bell offices across Canada are given hearts to hand
out to employees or patients who are suffering; some of the hearts are sent to
the Canadian Cancer Society to send on behalf of Bell "with a message of hope
from Carol Ann," and the company often makes a gift of hearts to various
conferences for distribution to delegates.
"These hearts are more than just a warm and fuzzy little
gift," Ruth points out. "People who receive a Comfort Heart learn Carol Ann's
story and they're often inspired by it. They find a reason to keep the heart
close and often buy hearts for others, which raises more money for cancer
research. These little hearts are even being given out a baptisms and
christenings... they're everywhere."
Carol Ann is an avid fitness buff and has been keeping
especially busy the past few months by working on her book - entitled
Comfort Heart: A Personal Memoir - which will appear in bookstores this
fall. And she received some wonderful news when she found out, just recently,
that she has been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada. "It's such an
honour!" she exclaims.
To order a Comfort Heart or to obtain more information about
this initiative, call OceanArt Pewter
at 1-800-407-4436 or log on to
www.carolanncole.com
