Leaders who Inspire me: Tracy Whitby and Linda Lafantaisie Renaud

Today, September 9, is Colonel Sanders’ birthday. At KFC Canada, we remember the Colonel for his integrity and spirit of hard work; these traits are the foundation of our brand values.??

In recognition of this day, I wanted to share a quote of the Colonel’s that helps guide today’s profile: "There's something inside of me that makes me want to help people, especially people who are having difficulty of some kind.” ?This altruistic force is something I hope many of us can recognize inside of ourselves, this urge to support those in need, with kindness, time or means, whatever we have in our toolkit. The two women whose stories I will be sharing today live and breathe this mentality; they have dedicated their careers and their lives to helping others. ?

Tracy Whitby (pictured left above) and Linda Lafantaisie Renaud (pictured right above) are both Executive Directors of non-profit organizations committed to supporting women in crisis; Tracy works with Agape House in Steinbach, Manitoba, and Linda works with The Horizon Women’s Centre in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. KFC Canada has had the honour of entering these women's lives through our Harvest Program, where our restaurants donate their surplus chicken to local charities across Canada, providing essential protein that is needed for balanced meals. Since 2016, our restaurants have donated more than 201,000 pounds of food to 244 unique Canadian charities, including Agape House and The Horizon Women’s Centre. ?

Through this connection, I had the honour of learning more about the work each of them does, their history in the industry, and the challenges and rewarding moments of their roles. ?

Agape House is a Crisis Centre with a mission to empower women and children experiencing family violence by providing safe shelter, information, counselling and ongoing support. Tracy started working with the organization as a contract worker, mostly helping with finances and their books. When that contract ended, she took on an administrative role that involved much more interaction with residents at the shelter, making Tracy feel like she had more purpose in her work. After five years in that position, she eventually took on her current role of Executive Director and has now been with Agape House for more than 10 years. ?

As with many industries and non-profit organizations, the pandemic brought about many new challenges for Agape House, their team and their residents. Still somewhat fresh in her Executive Director role, Tracy had to adapt quickly to ensure everyone on site knew the policies and procedures necessary to keep staff and residents safe. ?They are a very small organization and had a lot to navigate on their own; there were no higher ups to dictate procedure. Protocols were changing quickly, and in a space where confidentiality, trust and understanding are paramount, this took a lot of tact and hard work. ?

The Horizon Women’s Centre offers services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and to women in crisis or in need of support and assistance. Linda has been with the centre for an impressive 31 years. After studying social services in college, she completed her placement at Horizon, where she worked frontline until 1998, when she was promoted to the Director position. In her current role, she oversees the operations of the house and its various programs, policy development and budgeting.

In addition to her dedication to the women’s centre, before Covid, Linda also opened a community kitchen where they fed on average 100 people weekly.?She acknowledges it doesn’t seem like much but has a great impact on the community and those who access the service.?Families who are food insecure face devastating choices everyday – parents often skip meals so their kids can eat, they are forced to choose between groceries, rent, transportation costs and the list goes on and on. She hopes the work she does helps to alleviate some of those pressures and concerns.?

Both women recognize how difficult this line of work can be, but also acknowledge the rewarding aspects of their roles. Linda takes strength from knowing that her and her team are making a difference in reducing the statistics around domestic abuse, making every difficult day much more worthwhile. Tracy recalled a major moment she had recently witnessed with one of their residents. This woman had been in the shelter for three weeks and all she wanted was for her partner to change. She would normalize his actions, not seeing them as emotional abuse, but rather brush it off as “that’s just how he was raised.” One day Tracy saw the first glimmer that this woman realized she deserved better, and what her partner was doing was abuse. Tracy has learned to appreciate these moments: when you see the work you’re doing start to make an impact. For her and her team, seeing their clients make a decision for themselves that allows them to feel empowered and valued is what it’s all about. She knows these are challenging mentalities to work through and you can’t expect to change someone’s life completely in 30 or 60 days – but these small changes can lead to breakthroughs. ?

Learning to see and appreciate those small moments of impact is a necessary survival tool, both in this line of work, and for all of us. ?

What I admire about both ladies is their unwavering strength. It is not easy to carry around the weight of one’s situation, but through their compassion and courage, their work has made a life-changing (and often a lifesaving) difference in the lives of the women they work with and support. Even throughout the pandemic, which brought about a whole new set of challenges for their industry, both women continue to push forward in a powerful way.?

I thank both Tracy and Linda for allowing me to share their stories and work. I encourage you to visit the websites for both Agape House and The Horizon Women’s Centre to learn more and donate to the cause.?? I will be donating to both charities on behalf of KFC Canada.