Looking Back, Giving Forward: Reflections on My Time with HealthPartners
As my time with HealthPartners comes to a close after nearly three years, I’ve been reflecting on what this work has taught me.
One lesson stands out: the best time to prepare for a health challenge is when we’re well. Just as we save money for the future, we can also “save up” resources for the day when our health — or the health of someone we love — is tested. Supporting health charities like HealthPartners’ 20 members is one of the most meaningful ways we can do that.
Think of donating to a health charity like contributing to your retirement savings plan. You may not need it now, but when you do — you really do. And if we haven’t invested in these charities ahead of time, we may find ourselves in trouble when we need their services most.
Health charities invest in our future health every day – more than you might realize. For example, they:
- Fund life-changing research that leads to new treatments — treatments that may one day save your life. (More than 90% of Canadians will face a serious health condition in their lifetime.)
- Advocate for healthier policies, working with governments on initiatives like anti-smoking campaigns that improve public health for everyone.
- Ensure access to care, medications, devices, and therapies that improve — and sometimes save — lives.
And yet, just when we need them most, support for charities is dropping dramatically.
Recent Statistics Canada data shows that volunteerism has fallen from 44% of Canadians in 2013 to just 32% in 2023, with sharp declines among women and people aged 25 to 34. Charitable giving is also down: the percentage of Canadians donating fell from 82% a decade ago to 54% today, and only 17.1% claimed donations on their tax returns in 2022.
It’s a bit like drawing down on your retirement nest egg while the cost of living keeps climbing — worrisome, unsustainable, and risky for the future.
But there’s good news: we can all do something, and it doesn’t take much to make a difference.
Even a donation of $5 per paycheque through your HealthPartners workplace campaign.
adds up over the year — and most of us would barely notice it missing. If a financial contribution isn’t possible right now, you can still help by giving your time or skills. Start by sending a quick email to info@healthpartners.ca to learn how.
As I conclude my time with HealthPartners, I carry with me deep gratitude for the remarkable work of HealthPartners’ 20 member charities — work that touches every one of us in Canada, often in ways we don’t see until we need it most.
For me, continuing to support them feels less like charity and more like an investment — in my own future health, in my family’s, and in our communities.
I hope you’ll join me in making that investment, in whatever way you can. Together, we can help ensure these charities are there for all of us when we need them most.
Sources
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://carleton.ca/cicp-pcpob/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2025/04/Briefing-Document-1-EN-1.pdf
https://indd.adobe.com/view/26bddc74-3f84-4b8c-9975-9e4844a7f03c
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/donations-research-bulletin.pdf
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250623/dq250623b-eng.htm