• Awarded on: December 4, 2003

Donna Lynne Isaak, Whitehorse, Yukon
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award

Donna Isaak's own experience of pain and loss prompted her to reach out to others in need. She has served as a fundraiser and counsellor at women's transition homes, and has volunteered at the Whitehorse Hospice. In 1994, she founded Adopt-A-Family, a program to supply food and gifts to needy families at Christmas time. In its first nine years the program distributed $245,000 worth of food, toys and basic necessities to 344 families, with much of the work done by Mrs. Isaak herself. Committed to a Northern lifestyle of caring for friends and neighbours, she infuses energy and a zest for life to those less fortunate in her community.