Co-op Community Champion: Pauline Lindley

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — April’s Co-op Community Champion, Pauline Lindley, has been called a Fort St. John philanthropist for her work supporting the Women’s Resource Society (WRS), the Forgotten Felines Society, Freedom Thinkers, and more. She’s also known for her delicious chocolate cake and for creating quilts to benefit local organizations.

We officially have our first mother/daughter Community Champions after Pauline’s daughter, Amber Lindley, was December 2022’s recipient.

Pauline credits her parents for showing her how important it is to give back to the community and help those in need — something she passed on to her kids. Her daughter Amber has been a board member of the Women’s Resource Society for five years and has run a Socks and Jocks campaign benefiting the organization for the past seven years.

“When my kids were little, we started doing the Christmas hampers, but that wasn’t the Women’s Resource Society back then. And then, I found out about the Society, I’ve been doing Christmas hampers with them ever since and shopping for them because I’m a good bargain hunter.

“It’s important. It’s a need. We need to help people.”

Pauline was born and raised in the area, growing up on a farm outside Fort St. John. She says her family had a “humongous” garden mainly used to feed others as her parents gave away what they grew.

After graduating, Pauline says she got married, started a family, and worked at home as a bookkeeper for her husband’s business while caring for her kids.

Pauline continues to make sure her family sees the importance of helping others, as she now brings her two grandchildren with her when she shops for items for the Women’s Resource Society.

For Pauline, donating and volunteering make the community as a whole better. She says a common misconception she hears is that people think they do not have any way of helping.

“It takes so little. I mean, I’m a senior, I’m on a pension, but I can’t contribute a lot monetarily. But I can contribute my time.”

For those wondering how to get involved in helping out, Pauline says it doesn’t have to be a big gesture. It can be as small as placing a can of tuna in your shopping cart for a local cause. If there is an organization you’d like to support, Pauline says to reach out because, despite them being busy, they always have time to answer questions, especially for those that want to help.

Pauline also works with the North Peace Forgotten Felines Society, which helps get feral cats spayed and neutered in the community and reunite owners with their lost pets.

Like the Women’s Resource Society, Pauline, a self-described animal lover, says Forgotten Felines tackles a huge need in the community, calling the number of feral cats in the city “a huge problem.”

“We look after six feral cat colonies just with Forgotten Felines. It’s all volunteer. Like there’s, there’s no help from the government. It’s strictly volunteer.”

Outside of helping with fundraisers or shopping for items for local organizations, Pauline makes chocolate cakes for WRS workers when they want it or are having a tough week.

“I know it’s really funny, but evidently, my chocolate cake is known, famous or whatever. It’s just so cute that when I walk into the Women’s Resource Society with a chocolate cake, the girls will go, ‘Ah, chocolate cake.’I mean, they haven’t even seen it. It could be something else in that pan. But they know if it’s chocolate cake, ‘today’s a good day.’

Pauline has also been quilting for around 45 years and will raffle some of them off, with all proceeds going toward a local non-profit.

“I can’t give them that much money, but I can give them time.”

Through her quilt raffles, Pauline has raised money for Forgotten Felines, the SPCA, the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, Freedom Thinkers, and local care homes.

Congratulations to Pauline Lindley for being selected as April’s Co-op Community Champion.

Co-op highlights people in Fort St. John who should be recognized for their work in the community. Anyone looking to nominate a community-minded person in need of recognition can head to Energeticcity’s website.

CLICK HERE