Campaign co-chair “blown away” by nurses

Feb. 14, 2024

Looking back over the years, Sybil Taylor reflects that she comes by her philanthropic nature naturally. She says her parents were civic-minded and community-oriented, volunteering with dozens of organizations over her lifetime.

“They taught me that I should be a citizen who gives back,” notes Sybil, who was co-chair of the Simcoe County Advisory Committee for Georgian’s Frontline Support: Health-care Heroes Closer to Home campaign. The campaign raised funds to renovate nursing facilities, upgrade technology and establish new awards, scholarships and bursaries for nursing students at the Barrie and Owen Sound campuses in 2021, with a robust advisory committee in each community.

In 2020, the provincial government announced that colleges could offer four-year nursing degree programs on a stand-alone basis beginning in 2022. Before then, students who began their Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing (BScN) degrees at the Barrie Campus, had to leave after their second year to complete the final two years of their degree at York University.

The changes mean that nursing students who begin their Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing (BScN) degree at the Barrie Campus can complete all four years here in transformed learning environments with top-tier technology.

There were many people and organizations that helped the Frontline Support campaign reach its goal, and Sybil is one of them.

She and her husband Greg, founders of Steam Whistle Brewing, moved to Barrie before the pandemic hit, and while she may be a relative newcomer to the city, she wasn’t to Georgian College, where she was often a guest speaker and lecturer, and has held volunteer positions on various committees over the years.

“I’ve spoken at most colleges and universities around the province as a spokesperson for Steam Whistle and I was just really impressed by Georgian students and faculty,” she says. “It was the way they carried themselves, the kinds of questions they asked and their professionalism.”

Thinking about why she took on the role of co-chair when asked, her thoughts went back to her parents, but this time for a different reason.

It wasn’t until 2016 when my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and then five years later, my dad with Parkinson’s. I just got a view into a whole different set of nurses. I was really blown away by these people who not only are so knowledgeable about medicine but also are such compassionate people. They’re coming into your lives and helping you through some of the toughest, most tragic times of a family’s life. I have such respect and endearment toward nurses. It was just very easy to say yes to be involved in this campaign.

Sybil Taylor, Co-chair, Frontline Support: Health-care Heroes Closer to Home campaign

As it turns out, many residents of Barrie and Simcoe County feel the same way and came forward with donations when approached by Sybil and other campaign committee members – some supporting Georgian for the first time.

“People were drawn to different elements of the campaign, and it was great that we had so many different ways for people to give and be recognized,” says Sybil. “I have to say that the people of this region are very generous and community-minded, and it’s been an absolute pleasure and privilege to work on this campaign.”