Donor Spotlight – Interview with Shawna Peddle, Co-operators
CDF Canada attracts some of the most generous and compassionate donors. We have a diverse group of donors, each with their own reasons for giving. Some give for personal reasons, others to support their corporate goals and/or values. They all share a common goal of wanting to help create a world of self-reliance, equality and economic prosperity. We love hearing their stories and hope you will too!
Read ‘Why They Give!’ Discover the impact we’ve already made and the difference we can continue to make together as we help pave the way to prosperity for another 75 years.
Shawna Peddle
Expand impact beyond our borders
Co-operators knows all about people facing adversity and the need to rebuild communities. Their history goes back 70 years to the Great Depression and WWII – a time of great adversity for rural communities in Canada – with many agricultural families losing their belongings and savings. Co-operators immerged as a way for the community to pool its resources and help rebuild lives. So it’s no surprise they are long-time supporters of CDF Canada, which focuses on exactly that. “As a co-operative, we are driven to support a thriving co-operative sector, both in Canada and internationally,” says Shawna Peddle, AVP Citizenship at Co-operators. “We have many active partnerships with Canadian co-operatives, but CDF Canada allowed us to expand our impact beyond our borders and focus on the most pressing, unmet needs in communities around the world.”
CDF Canada amplifies our business
Co-operators is fundamentally different from most insurance companies. “Our business decisions are guided by our co-operative principles, so the need for profitability is balanced with the needs of our members and their communities.” says Shawna. They make people a priority, here at home, and in partnership with CDF Canada abroad. Being a long-time supporter, Co-operators shares CDF Canada’s values and vision for a more sustainable and equitable world, built on self-reliance and resiliency, making CDF Canada a perfect fit with their community impact work and strategic business goals. “We feel that community and individual resilience is the greatest contributor to security,” continued Shawna. “Our support of CDF Canada amplifies our purpose beyond our borders to build stronger, more resilient communities around the world.” The alignment with CDF Canada’s approach couldn’t be better, with Co-operator’s view of social impact being a more co-operative society. “We are excited to support a thriving co-op movement based in the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity,” Shawna exclaimed. “We know what we need to do to support Canadian communities, but our partnership with CDF Canada supports their (international) expertise and amplifies our impact beyond our borders.”
Thriving co-operative movement
While Co-operators primarily focuses on initiatives here in Canada, they truly believe that supporting a thriving co-operative sector shouldn’t stop at our own borders. “Donating to CDF Canada allows us to connect to the rest of the world and truly live the Co-operative Principles of Co-operation among Co-operatives and Concern for Community,” says Shawna. “CDF Canada’s focus on resilient communities mirrors our own, and we connect deeply around supporting community empowerment through self-reliance and capacity-building, rather than charity.” This alignment of values and understanding of the power of the co-operative approach to support community economic development results in a mutually beneficial partnership, as it allows both Co-operators and CDF Canada to truly live our co-operative values, while creating enormous impact around the world.
Pedalling with purpose
We are pleased with our continued connection with Shawna on our Pedalling with Purpose campaign – an initiative made possible last year by the Co-operators’ contribution and support of CDF Canada’s inaugural bicycle pilot launched in 2021. “I am most proud of our founding support of the Pedalling with Purpose program, supporting Kenyan co-operators in becoming more self-sufficient and resilient to a changing climate, while positively impacting their incomes and local communities,” says Shawna. The Program purchased purpose-built cargo bikes to help some of the most impoverished communities in Kenya, get to market quickly and safely, while reducing transportation costs and greenhouse emissions – at a time when fuel and pollution are on the rise. “Seeing the video from the launch event, the pride and community spirit that our support of CDF Canada has enabled, was an incredible moment,” Shawna said full of emotion. In addition to the bicycle campaign, Co-operators is supporting our efforts in Ukraine, where we are focused on the long-term recovery of the co-operative sector in this war-torn region, helping to create a safer, healthier and more sustainable society.