What It Means to Turn Caring into Lifelong Action

BY MICHAEL BROOKE

The desire of Michelle Francis to do philanthropic work is rooted in her earliest childhood memories. “I was the youngest daughter of four and the first to be born in Canada,” she recalls. “From the time I can remember, I was my dad’s shadow.” Michelle says her father, Henry Francis, was always taking her to places where he would fix things for people. “My father was larger than life and had this extraordinary presence in people’s lives.” Michelle says that people could rely on him for assistance and support. “I could never tell the difference between my father socializing or helping. His helping was an extension of who he was.”

One gets the same impression from Michelle. She has managed to seamlessly fuse her business career with her philanthropic work. “Every time I advocate or every time I’m helping, it’s not a separate activity, it’s just a part of what I do.”

In perhaps one of the most striking examples of the impact that Michelle’s father had on her life, she recounted the time when he helped save someone’s life at the scene of a car accident. “A young man had been hit and my father rushed into action. He told me to go and get a pillow and blanket from the car. I remembered feeling so empowered at the time knowing that my dad was going to save someone!” At that moment, Michelle says she really understood what it meant to be protected and cared for and she was immensely proud of her father.

Michelle’s first official volunteer experience was at an exercise event at the Heart & Stroke Foundation. This opportunity eventually led to her first corporate job working with the very same foundation as a provincial coordinator in Cause Marketing for Fit & Hoops. As Michelle explains, “back then, the not-forprofit world was where your passion lived and your income died.”

Her move to the for-profit world coincided with the birth of her first son. The reason she moved into the business world was because she couldn’t afford to take care of her son while working in the not-for-profit world. Fast forward a number of years and Michelle believes that things have changed. “Consumers are starting to ask pointed questions like ‘does this product or service that I am buying align with my value system?’”

Michelle has also worked in continuing education at George Brown College and was a professor at Durham College in Fund Development in Sports Management. Michelle’s initiatives encourage and empower young people to take charge of their lives. The Henry Alexander House was created in honour of her father who along with being a community leader was also a recipient of the Government of Canada Jubilee Award. The Jubilee Award award recognizes and honours significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. The house is both a performance and healing facility that endeavours to provide a blend of therapeutic modalities, life skills and business. It has offered a wide range of programs and services for families in Durham Region. This includes counselling, mediation and business performance training.

The Alexander House also does intensive group outreach support for black youth, black youth at risk and BIPOC youth. It works with teens and young adults (ages 16 to 21) who are navigating emotional challenges and those trying to navigate a future career path.

Besides supporting individuals, the house also provides a place for nonprofits and charities to work and spread their message. As the pandemic started to change the way people interacted, Michelle realized that she had to offer the community something that went beyond what the Alexander House could offer. Michelle retired as President and Chairwomen of Durham Family Court Clinic at the end of her term. This coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, to focus on the transformation of The Henry Alexander House to launch a new venture to help youth.

“Through speaking with my own kids, I started to understand that there was a whole gender and age group that was displaced from their employment. It was males who were visibly diverse and were really hanging on trying to see what kind of impact COVID-19 was going to have on their employment prospects. Many were left with nothing.”

It was at this moment where Michelle created a new program called L.E.O.N. “I always felt that young people were powerful, they just weren’t empowered. The world sees them as troublemakers or a pain in the neck. But I know they are looking for guidance and mentorship.” The L.E.O.N. program was named after Michelle’s nephew who had passed away. It stands for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Opulence and Nobility. “I saw the writing on the wall some years ago and I knew that the traditional 30 year job would dissipate. I wanted very much for young people to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit. I wanted to engage young people’s passions.”

L.E.O.N is an all-encompassing youth enrichment program that helps to build a positive future for youth and young adults. It offers support along with a number of tools for success. These include life skills development, entrepreneurship, networking, financial literacy training and conflict resolution training. Additionally, it offers personal fulfillment and discovery platform, workplace preparedness and mentorship.

The benefits of the program include the fostering of personal accountability, a transfer of skills to the business world and an improvement of communication skills. Graduates of the program find they have an enhanced self-worth, evolved self-pride along with an improved ability to cope with life’s challenges. This leads to the creation of a healthy mindset that in turn creates healthy families and communities.

The lion motif speaks to the idea of one’s pride being their inner roar. “A lion can be present and not roar — it’s almost like a silent power” explains Michelle. The fact that leon is lion in French is also a nod to her family. “Both my sons are in French immersion and are bilingual.”

Part of Michelle’s philosophy of work is the idea of philanthropy being welded with entrepreneurship. “I’ve always looked at business as being an extension of myself. What are your values? Who are the people leading that business?”

As Michelle explains, starting a non-profit organization comes from the heart. As you move forward, you have to ensure there is an entrepreneurial spirit attached to the movement so that it can walk in parallel with the corporate world. “It’s important not to lose your integrity and it is indeed a fine balance between nonprofit and for-profit enterprises.”

“I am very focused on solutions, and commercial real estate is all about analyzing the data and providing solutions,” says Michelle. “But I also have experience in investing and I’ve been able to teach my clients how they can profit from investing in properties.” Michelle has been able to get clients to understand the value of providing space to those who don’t have homes. “For the twenty years that I’ve been a landlord, I’ve been an affordable landlord because I understand that people need somewhere to live.”

Another initiative that Michelle launched was something called The Wall. It grew out of the L.E.O.N. project because she was concerned about what kids were going to do as the colder months approached and the pandemic continued to wage war on people’s plans. Michelle wondered how she could keep youth busy and engaged. “I thought to myself, ‘what can young people create that comes from their sorrow or confusion that someone else could appreciate?’” Michelle approached a real estate broker that she knew and asked about opening up a new location. After some deliberation, Michelle was given a 20’ x 25’ wall inside the actual real estate broker's office. Originally, the intention was to put the Henry Alexander logo on this canvas but Michelle felt she could do more.

Michelle took a chance and contacted a young and upcoming artist and gave him an opportunity to create whatever he wished on the canvas. Watching the process was magical for Michelle. “It was amazing to see our artist find himself as he created this artwork. You didn’t know what twists or turns it would make.”

The Wall has been a resounding success and every quarter, a new artist gets a chance to put their work on canvas. Each piece of art is for sale and Michelle has even launched her first non-fungible token (NFT), a digital form of ownership verified by a decentralized online ledger The project has even inspired other realtors to step up and get involved in bringing canvases into their offices. “I envision these places as local tourist spots. These are places where people can go to see amazing art and every brokerage will have a different concept.”

During my conversation with Michelle, I was struck by the number of ideas that flow from her mind. When discussing the idea of giving young people a space to share their art, she immediately pivoted to something I’d never considered before. “One of my former tenants worked in the mental health field and was the art director at Ontario Shores. She asked me about bringing in artwork from some of the clients who were mentally challenged and I said ‘of course!’” Michelle avidly believes in this cause because she recognizes that people with mental health issues are underrepresented when it comes to showcasing their art.

I asked Michelle about how she’d convince her fellow realtors along with anyone who worked in the business world to join in the world of philanthropy. “I think the community needs to demand it. Not just of their realtors but of all the businesses they transact with. The question is ‘what are you doing in the community above and beyond a business transaction?’” Michelle firmly believes that businesses really need to ask themselves ‘what are we doing to contribute to the greater good?’ As she explains, there is a lot of mending that needs to be done.

When a realtor becomes part of the Wall programme, there is a certificate that is created. It is an acknowledgment of the donation that indicates the realtor has given to the community. “When a business gives back, they are part of an elite group and this recognition makes them stand out” explains Michelle.

When humans give back and help one another, it can lead to extraordinary moments and insights. When Michelle was in her late 30’s, she spent time volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Michelle found the work fulfilling because she could immediately see the impact of her contributions. At an event, Michelle listened to a lady’s story who had been helped by the charity. “This woman had 6 children and was leading a pretty good life with no real issues. One day, her husband suddenly died and this started her trajectory of becoming homeless.” As Michelle recalls, everyone in the room was crying and her heart was breaking. Michelle confided that she too had to deal with some very traumatic experiences in her life. “When this woman told her story, I was finally able to see and hear an actual recipient of my work with Habitat for Humanity and it had a profound impact on me emotionally.”

Michelle sees the power of the not-for-profit world and its ability to transform lives. “It is a great place for people to explore their capabilities and to really connect with individuals and communities. There are so many opportunities out there that someone can contribute to. It doesn’t have to be a random position, it can in fact be a strategic career building opportunity that helps boost your trajectory.”

Over the last several years Michelle has been recognized for her work in the community of Durham Region. In the fall of 2021, her tremendous efforts were showcased by the Ontario Real Estate Association in their Real Heart Initiative. The initiative highlights the good work done by Ontario realtors in their communities. The members of OREA are committed to making the world a better place and inspiring others to do the same. By telling stories that inspire and by providing the tools needed to become community champions, they aim to help build stronger communities across Ontario. Michelle is featured in a video that highlights some of her activities. https://realheart. ca/video/michelle-leong-francis/

MICHAEL BROOKE is a Toronto based writer, author and entrepreneur and currently principal of Time For My Story, a publishing venture.