Northern Lights recipient – Marieclaire Collins

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Location: Edmonton, Alberta

Marieclaire Collins has a heart for helping children.

When she is not caring for the most vulnerable of infants as a nurse in an Edmonton neonatal intensive care unit or helping her own 2 young boys, Marieclaire is a tireless volunteer at her sons’ school. Rare is the event or activity that Marieclaire has not stepped up to support, lending a hand often from the moment it was proposed and usually through to the very end. With boundless energy and enthusiasm, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of patience and a smile as warm as it is welcoming, Marieclaire inspires through initiative and an uncanny knack of knowing just how to get the job done.

Even at the height of the pandemic with the added responsibility of conducting the boys’ classes at the kitchen table and the added stress of being a healthcare worker in the time of COVID, Marieclaire stepped up to the plate. As vice chair of the local school council, she doggedly continued to work on plans for a celebratory barbecue held the day parents and staff could welcome students back to classes. Always willing to go the extra mile, Marieclaire stands as an example of kindness and grace to whom giving back is a reward in itself.