Team member and philanthropist, Jacinthe Doiron is one of those people who care about the good of others, and who would do just about anything to achieve her goals. For the fifth year in a row, she will be participating in the Everest Challenge, which is being sponsored for the first time by Premier Tech. Last year, she even achieved her goal, Macadam Ultra, by climbing the Hill St. Pierre 100 times in 48 hours!
With the theme song from Rocky in one ear, the encouragement of her family and her team in the other, despite knee pain, Jacinthe achieved the goal she had set herself by remembering all the effort she put forth over the past few months. "I did it for myself, to prove to myself that I was capable. I had worked too hard during the summer to give up, there was no way I was going to stop! I was on a mission," she recalls, tears in her eyes but clearly satisfied. Phew! Such an accomplishment!
Not only did Jacinthe achieve this feat during the 2017 Everest Challenge weekend, but for over two years, she served on the event's board of directors. Planning, organization, fundraising, nothing was left to chance! "It's not for nothing that I work in planning at Premier Tech! I have a knack for it, so might as well use my talents for good," says the team member, looking passionate.
An innate generosity
For Jacinthe, giving back to the community is essential. We could almost call her Mother Teresa (yes, really!). Because in just about everything she touches, she makes sure to give the best service possible, even at work, in order to make life easier for those around her.
Even though Jacinthe no longer sits on the Board of Directors of the Premier Tech Everest Challenge, she still strives to encourage as many people as possible to participate. "The more teams there are, the more organizations benefit from them. Since the beginning of the Challenge, at least half a million dollars has been distributed to various organizations in the region," she continues proudly. Wow!
"I seem to have conditioned the people around me because now I don’t even have to say the name Premier Tech Everest Challenge and my family is right there to encourage me and donate!” she laughs. It is probably because of all this unwavering commitment and determination that Jacinthe will be an ambassador of the Everest Premier Tech Challenge this year.
The importance of giving back
"The first year I took part in the Challenge, I brought my children distribute the donations to the organizations and I heard a testimony from a mother who was struggling to feed her children. This was just one of many stories, but it really affected my daughter. There are people who struggle a lot more than we think, and there are children who have the right to play, to read, to have fun, to play sports... that's why each cause is important," says Jacinthe, who continuously involves her children in this event which greatly benefits the community.
Health and fitness are of course the values at the core of her mission. Actually, it was when Jacinthe was coming back from an injury that she decided to join the Premier Tech Everest Challenge movement. "Since I was getting back in shape, why not give back to the community at the same time! It’s just so gratifying!" she says, adding that her team has donated to the Grand-Portage Family House, the Lending Toy Library and, this year, the Sphinxes of Rivière-du-Loup High School.
Every year for the past 5 years, Jacinthe and her team members at Premier Tech have taken the challenge of 150 trips up the hill with just a small number of participants. They also succeeded in winning the Summit flag in the 10-and-under category, which rewards the team that raised the largest amount of money. They have always raised double the amount required for the registration of a team. Nothing less for such a motivated team! "It is clear that if there is a challenge to overcome, I invest 200%," she concludes.
Congratulations and of course thank you, Jacinthe for giving so much of yourself!
