Winter Giving: Spotlight on Maddie
Winter Giving: Spotlight on Maddie
This winter, as we celebrate another record-breaking harvest, we’re shining a light on the dedicated community members who help bring Not Far From The Tree to life year-round.
Meet Maddie, the Chair of Not Far From The Tree’s Steering Committee whose curiosity about local fruit grew into a deep commitment to reducing waste, feeding neighbours, and helping our community flourish. Behind the scenes, our Steering Committee members play a vital role in guiding Not Far From The Tree’s vision, strengthening our programs, and helping the organization grow.
Meet Maddie!
Maddie began volunteering with Not Far From The Tree in July 2020 as a fruit picker, and quickly progressed to Pick Leader. Maddie was born and raised in the city as a third generation, mixed-race Canadian. Her obsession for picking fruit goes further back than childhood. It started when her mother was a child and would spend her summers picking fruit on the family orchard, which is now the parking lot of Canada’s Wonderland. She passed this passion on to Maddie who has fond childhood memories of picking fruit on pick your own farms across Ontario.
When Maddie learned about NFFTT, she fell in love with the elegant model to pick fruit and share it. What seems like such a simple act has enormous social and environmental ripple effects: reducing waste, supporting food access, connecting people to their city, building community, providing habitats, and supporting the critical ecosystem services our trees provide.
After two years of leading picks, Maddie wanted to contribute more to the organization from a governance and strategy perspective. When she saw the opportunity to join the Steering Committee and as the Chair of the Fundraising & Events Sub Committee she applied for the position. When Maddie isn’t picking fruit, preserving, travelling or thrifting, she works in the philanthropy and corporate social responsibility sector for a travel company in Toronto.
“The model is based on shared abundance, which is something we need more of in this world. There are few organizations which are so deeply considerate about connecting what some see as disparate groups to create even greater connection and support in a community.”
What inspires you to volunteer your time as a Steering Committee member?
For me, projects like NFFTT represent the best of Toronto: passionate people coming together to make the city more connected, vibrant, and sustainable. I believe the broad skills and experience I’ve gained throughout my career can meaningfully support NFFTT and the many people who benefit from its work. What inspires me most as a Steering Committee member is knowing just how far reaching the impact is, socially, economically, and environmentally. I love hearing community members talk about developing “fruit vision,” seeing the city differently once they recognize the abundance of fruit trees and all they contribute. There’s something truly special about finding community with others who get just as excited about native plants, foraging, or preserving the bounty of our short summers to enjoy and share throughout the colder months.
Why do you choose to support NFFTT as a donor, in addition to volunteering your time?
Volunteer work is absolutely essential to the continuing operation of NFFTT, but so is funding. I think many people assume we are a large project with deep pockets, but that’s not accurate. We are a tiny but mighty team that relies on the generosity of individuals and organizations to continue our work and without financial support, we would not be able to continue picking and sharing fruit.
What does “sharing the harvest” mean to you personally?
To me, “sharing the harvest” means generosity, supporting others, and reciprocity. It means recognizing there is more than enough for us all.
Why do you think it’s important for others to support NFFTT whether through donations, volunteering, or spreading the word?
I think anyone who cares about their neighbours having access to fresh, local food; reducing waste; or creating more connected communities should consider supporting NFFTT. We all have different capacities to give, but every little bit helps in our mission!
Further Reading
Winter Giving: Spotlight on Zack