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Supporting the Thrive Centre makes sense for exercise physiologist

When Tanya Williamson gives to ��ݮ����Ƶ����, she sees the difference her donation makes.

A Clinical Exercise Physiologist at the in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Williamson directs her philanthropic resources to ��ݮ����Ƶ����’s Thrive Centre — a free facility that offers evidence-based exercise programming for people living with cancer. 

It’s a space she had a hand in creating and continues to use on a daily basis. So supporting the Thrive Centre, which operates solely on donations, makes sense to her.

“It’s valuable — you can immediately see the impact,” says Williamson, who made her most recent donation to the Thrive Centre last summer — and plans to make her next one, via Giving Day, in April. “I know that’s true for me. You know what it’s going back into and you’re part of that community, right? It’s fostering the environment we’re working in and supporting what we’re trying to do.”

And, at ��ݮ����Ƶ����, the reach of workplace giving is not confined to the campus. “You can see it locally,” she says. “You can see where it makes that direct impact in the larger community of our city, our province.”

From Williamson, there are not only financial contributions. She offers her time, helping organize fundraisers, including the Drive for Thrive, which raised $50,000 last year. The eighth annual tournament is set for May 29 at the Silver Springs Golf and Country Club. “It’s always really inspiring,” says Williamson, a ��ݮ����Ƶ���� graduate who has worked on campus for 15 years. “How much can be raised and put directly back into what we do.”

The Thrive Centre, in addition to supporting those living with cancer, provides practicum avenues for ��ݮ����Ƶ���� students, who appreciate the options for hands-on opportunities.

“Through donations, we’ve directly created this possibility for students to see the impact of research on people’s health and wellness,” says Williamson. “It’s that full-circle moment of what’s possible.”