#sparkchamber 052923 — Mary-Anne Herrema
Love drives #sparkchamber today as we welcome charity champion, Mary-Anne Herrema. What started as a part-time position 16 years ago has turned into a career Mary-Anne couldn’t have imagined for herself … although turns out there may have been a couple of clues. She grew up in Southern Ontario in the 70’s/80’s, the youngest of three kids, and the only girl. “I felt like I had three dads growing up because of protective older brothers.” She loved her neighborhood, and looking back on it, realizes how fortunate she was to be raised up in an era where you were on your own most of the time — as long as you were home when the streetlights came on in the evening. “Precious times that are sadly no longer.”
Mary-Anne remembers loving creative writing in school, “Telling stories, and sometimes being surprised with how they end, is magical,” without ever considering that it would one day become the favorite part of her job. Or even that she would have a job at all! “My family inspires me. My family has been most of my ‘career,’ and I loved it that way. I am blessed with a husband who has been supportive and loving for 35+ years, and two wonderful kids, an awesome son-in-law plus one bonus son and daughter-in-law, and the sweetest granddaughter on the planet who is my HEART. She brings nothing but joy every day.”
When her children were in elementary school, Mary-Anne reluctantly joined the workforce, taking a part-time admin position at Jennifer Ashleigh Children’s Charity — a non-profit organization working closely with children’s hospitals across Ontario to take care of uncovered costs for seriously and chronically ill children. Since then, Mary-Anne has worn many different hats, and been exposed to many different opportunities. Now, she is fundraising full-time — which she loves. “Getting introduced into the part of the job where I could write was exciting, and fundraising was all new to me. Having an incredible mentor to ‘teach me the ropes’ of fundraising led me down the path I am on now, and I couldn't be more grateful.” We love this story! Thank you for the work you do, Mary-Anne.
1.] Where do ideas come from?
Ideas come from the world around me. In my specific job, my inspiration for my writing comes from the strength, resilience, and bravery of the families our charity helps.
In my personal life, my ideas come from what my family needs or wants — they are my reason.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
In work, my motivation is raising the funds needed to help the sick/disabled children and families we support. My goal is to write in such a way that the reader FEELS what the parents/families feel — to put them in the position where they can feel and empathize with what the families are facing.
In my personal life, it’s almost “nesting” — making a home, cooking a meal, caring for friends and neighbours — that's what inspires me. That comes from my faith background — doing for others — and it motivates me every day.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
Early bird for SURE. I like the quiet of the morning when the world isn't noisy yet. It’s easier to create without all of the noise to distract. In fact, when I am writing, I need silence — I can’t have a radio or anything else on, or I get distracted. I’m definitely a “getting into a zone” type of writer.
I usually write for a bit and then leave it for 24 hours [if I have luxury]. I find that when I return to it, the portions that I wasn’t too sure of become clearer, or are unnecessary. I usually have to “pare down” things because I can be rather verbose on the first go-around.
In fundraising, when writing a grant proposal, I have to research, research, research first. I need to know tons about who I am writing TO, what drives THEM to give, what they are looking for from that experience. It's all about relationships, truly. We want to build a relationship with them, and to connect that company/foundation with the people they are helping.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
Honestly, I don't think you can ever be truly DONE. You could edit a piece forever. You need to come to the point where you ask yourself “have I said everything I wanted/needed to say?” If you can say “yes” to that, sometimes it can be good enough...