Macquarie staff in the community
Grant MacKenzie manages Macquarie's mortgages business in Canada. He also led the Ontario team's Ride To Conquer Cancer fundraiser in 2010.
I got involved with my chosen charities because…
I want my kids to avoid these diseases and my grand kids to read about them.
My community needs more…
compassion, caring and involvement.
I can help my community by…
speaking up, staying involved and being aware.
I'd like to volunteer to…
expand micro credit in Canada and allow those that can't get a leg up traditionally to have a shot!
If I could fix one problem it would be...
hunger - with the money in this world it amazes me that anyone goes to bed hungry.
The people who inspire me are…
selfless individuals who in spite of overwhelming circumstances, smile and never complain, like the girl in the Ride to Conquer Cancer event who lost her leg to cancer and rides a tricycle 200km to raise money - inspirational!
I'm most proud of…
Macquarie, the Foundation and all who support charities in their various communities.
If everyone could just do one thing to make a difference what would it be?
To realize there are many people out there less fortunate than them - that's the start of giving.
Sandra Pierce is a senior investment advisor with Macquarie Private Wealth in Toronto. In 2010 she coordinated a large and innovative fundraising event to raise money for Plan Canada's work with girls in impoverished nations.
I got involved with my chosen charities…
I truly believe the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism is by focusing on women and girls.
My community needs more…
awareness that women and children are not the problem but the solution.
I can help my community by…
making others aware that talent is universal although opportunity is not!
I'd like to volunteer for…
the Namibia Conservation and Big Cat Rehabilitation program to work with long-term conservation of cheetahs and leopards – threatened wildlife is my other passion.
The people who inspire me are…
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof – whose twice weekly columns in The New York Times regularly and incisively call attention to women’s issues, especially those in the developing world.
I'm most proud of…
my adoptive parents – two gay men who 40 years ago “took me in” and without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. They have shown me what courage and commitment really mean and that success in anything requires both dedication and hard work – inspiration is not enough.
If everyone could just do one thing to make a difference what would it be?
Find a cause that resonates with them; learn more about it and adopt it!
Final word...
The oppression of women worldwide is the human rights cause of our time; their liberation could help solve many of the world’s problems from poverty to child mortality to terrorism.