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Born for a Life of Purpose
Written By Jamie Orchard GEMMA RAEBURN-BAYNES
“ God put me here for a purpose , to make people happy , to do what I can do to support the community .”
That ’ s the reflection of Gemma Raeburn-Baynes , who has been a survivor her whole life , from her birth at just three pounds to pushing on after three close calls with congestive heart failure . “ My doctors told me my heart was just too big ,” Gemma explains . If you ask anyone who has had the privilege of spending time with her , they would agree .
Gemma started her mission of giving back to her community at just 9 years of age when she still lived in her native Grenada . “ I gathered all the kids from the area in the village , many who couldn ’ t afford to go to school , and I taught them what I learned in my school . So I was 9 years old being a teacher in the summer .” When she was 13 , her father sent her to Canada along with her mother and her older sister . He intended to join them , but within months he was dead ; a sudden heart attack at just 50-yearsold . “ He gave us that gift before he left , it was really good that he made Canada our home .”
It was 1964 , and Gemma ’ s mother was now a single mom in a new country with two teenage daughters to look after . “ My sister went to work to help her , and help me finish high school , and go onto CEGEP ,” Gemma shares . And then , in 1970 she made a decision that would set the stage for her entire lifetime of giving back . She took a job at Bank of Montreal as secretary to an account manager .
“ Big thumbs up to the bank because when you are an employee and you go to school they pay for your schooling . So thanks to the bank I was able to go to school .” Gemma went to McGill and studied management and public relations , and went back again years later to study auditing . By the time she left the bank 32 years later , she was a senior auditor , but more importantly , she had led the bank to make massive strides forward in the areas of equity and diversity .
Gemma served on the bank ’ s Task Force on the Advancement of Women and helped them become the first Canadian company to win the coveted U . S . Catalyst Award . She also held the position of Manager , Workplace Equality and Internships where she launched BMO ’ s Trans- Canada “ Possibilities ” program encouraging young people to stay in school , graduate , and build job skills .
Gemma ’ s working life came to a sudden end when that big heart of hers literally overflowed . “ One day I was in the bank doing an audit and the whole room was spinning . I called my doctor and he said you go home and stay home , but I said I have to finish my audit . I worked two more days until Friday , and on Saturday night I was taken to hospital with congestive heart failure . And that was the last day I worked .”
“ The bank was really good to me . They said you ’ ve given us 32 years of your life , now it ' s time for us to take care of you .” But this dynamo of a woman , with her very big heart was not going to stop giving back to her community . Gemma had laid the groundwork for her second act throughout her entire career at the bank , not consciously , but it was there , in the background , all the time . It started way back in the ' 70 ' s when