13 Years a TD Pride Veteran and #foreverproud

I've always said that I will never take Pride celebrations for granted. I truly feel blessed to live in – what I believe to be - the greatest country in world, where we can all openly celebrate who we are and who we love.

When I joined TD back in 2005, as National Manager of Community Relations (for Diverse Communities), I made it a personal goal to increase TD's profile in the LGBT community. Like the other big financial institutions, TD supported HIV & AIDS causes, but no one was truly overt in their support for the LGBT community. It was that year that I knocked on Pride Toronto's door. I think the Executive Director at the time almost fell off her chair when I told her that we (TD) would like to sponsor Pride.

The rest, as they say, is history!

At the time there was some backlash, including some customers who threatened to move their business if TD continued to support Pride. Ed Clark, our CEO at the time made it clear that supporting our LGBT employees was a matter of principle and not something he would back down on, even if it meant that some customers would take their business elsewhere.  

Fast forward 13 years later and here we are - Pride Toronto 2017!

Between all of the events:

• The pre-Pride Weekend parties & socials with some of my favourite colleagues,

• The 519's "Starry Night" performance (BTW - yes, that is Kathleen Wynne),

• The Pride and Remembrance 5K Run - landing a personal best of 20.37 & bragging rights as the top fundraiser (over $8,000),

• Closely followed, well-deserved poolside time spent with friends & family,

• Walked through the Forever Proud circle at Union Station to help TD® and Aeroplan® donate up to 30 million Miles to organizations who advocate for LGBT communities globally.

• A few photos with some TD  boys and girls

• Sofonda's incredible performance,

• Marching alongside friends & colleagues in the parade,

• The smiles,
• The laughs,
• The friends,
• The family,
• The support,
• The love,

& all the colours of the rainbow… It's been yet another one for the books!

Under the leadership of our CEO, Bharat Masrani,  our support for the LGBT community has evolved immensely since I joined TD in 2005. Not only do we support over 100 grassroots LGBT organizations, but we now sponsor 63 Pride festivals across North America. We've also created roles across the organization to help continue our progress! The Regional Manager, LGBT Business Development, role at TD (my current role) is now in its third year and is the only one of its kind in the financial industry in Canada.

At TD, we celebrate Pride 365 days a year, which is why our Pride symbol is a full rainbow circle. . Although we've made great progress, we still have work to do. It's weekends like these where I get to see the impact that our work has on the community - and its weekends like these that inspire me to grab-hold of all the possibilities I have yet to uncover in my career at TD!

Forever, #foreverproud