The LOCAL Making A Difference Award is presented to an individual who has displayed outstanding dedication or has been responsible for outstanding accomplishments of local significance in multiple births issues within Canada. This year we selected two winners, Denise Cook, and Josette McCauley.

The second winner of the Local Award is Josette McCauley.

"Josette has been a volunteer with POMBA- Halifax Region for almost 10 years, starting in 2004. We joke that Josette probably began volunteering for POMBA as part of our hospital visiting team before she left the hospital! Josette truly embodies a non-profit organization, and all that POMBA does: kindness, patience and an unwavering love for family. Josette does all of this with a smile, a giggle and a can-do attitude. When I think of POMBA, I think of Josette. She has held the roles of Playgroup Coordinator, Sale Coordinator, Hospital Visitor, POMBA president, past president, Website coordinator, Newsletter Coordinator and has helped out at dozens of POMBA events. She has coordinated Mom's retreat, hosted Mom's night and started family events such as our Easter Egg Hunt and Trunk or Treat. Oftentimes, Josette would hold many of these roles at once; when I met her, she was the Vice President, Newsletter, Website and Sale Coordinator.

​Josette works tirelessly on behalf of POMBA and contributes hundreds of hours each year. Her enthusiasm knows no limits. Her current roles include Sale Coordinator, Past President and also is our go-to editor for the website, graphic design and communications support. Josette is our historian, knowing how and why things came to be with POMBA and how they have evolved. She is our ambassador, welcoming every new member, visiting and helping members who need a helping hand and doing so with compassion, authenticity and love. She will be the first to snuggle babies to give parents a rest, chase after toddlers or put her own needs last to help out. I have no doubt there are more POMBA files on her home computer than personal files! Josette has positioned POMBA in a leadership role on every occasion possible. She has been responsible for POMBA stepping into the social media world, expanding our peer support into two online Facebook groups, trying out our first Twitter account and helping to build our current sale Facebook page that reaches over 20,000 people in the month leading up to our sale. She has grown our fundraising consignment sale to exceed new targets each year.

What makes Josette glow and stand out even more is she does this oftentimes in the role of a single parent (her husband works away from their home) and with children that have special needs, allergies, and sometimes need extra appointments or different strategies to get through the day. She will always put herself last, and it is hard to have her accept a compliment. She is responsible for the current design of our POMBA logo, and for helping to grow the POMBA brand to what it is today- recognized, respected and valued in Nova Scotian communities. Josette has fostered our relationship with the IWK Health Centre (Children's and Maternal health) and was part of the team that accepted a recent award for POMBA's contributions. There is no one more deserving of this accomplishment that I can think of. No one who does more for POMBA and no one who loves POMBA more in Nova Scotia than Josette!"