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Holiday Hero nominee: Michelle McKenzie Lander

Michelle McKenzie Lander is no stranger to rolling out the welcome mat to new Canadian citizens here in Thunder Bay.

Michelle McKenzie Lander is no stranger to rolling out the welcome mat to new Canadian citizens here in Thunder Bay.

Michelle is the Resettlement Assistance Program Coordinator with the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association on behalf of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Her job is to help international newcomers settle here in Thunder Bay and across Northwestern Ontario. But Michelle darn well knows that integration is a huge undertaking beyond government services.

Michelle is a tireless community maven on integration who goes the extra mile after work with a hands-on approach to make sure our new fellow citizens feel welcome.

She is on the go ensuring families and their children take in local amenities and events, offers transportation when she see folks on the roads with their grocery bags, gathering donations of clothes, toys and furniture, ensures forms are complete for extracurricular activities with local schools, and making sure other organizations and the whole community are aware that we need to provide a helping hand to make our newcomers feel welcome.

Michelle takes pride with children and youth, always mentoring and taking in their special events whether being on the field for football games, at community centres for recitals, found in the rink for hockey, or seeing them receive awards at their school assemblies.

Everyone reminds Michelle to go home LOL after all her time is spent with people. Michelle is a hero to many of our new friends here in Thunder Bay for giving them a hand up, many don't even know how to thank her, Michelle has made an unknown world become home.





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