Community and leadership have always been a part of my life. I have been volunteering in the community for as long as I can remember. As an adult I have worked with many organizations to help achieve their mandates including: SPCA (Board of Directors/Vice Chair), Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre (Board of Directors), Junior Achievement Advisor, Habitat for Humanity building projects, Saskatoon Prairieland Park Corporation (Member/volunteer), and canvassing for Heart and Stroke Foundation, Kidney Foundation, Children’s Wish Foundation and more.
My mother and father created a philanthropic legacy in the community. My father served on the board of directors for a number of corporate and not-for-profit organizations, and generously donating to the three Saskatoon hospitals, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, Saskatoon Symphony Society, Western Development Museum, SaskTel Soccer Centre, Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre-who has named a classroom in their honour, Saskatoon SPCA and more. My father was also active in Rotary and was a two-time Paul Harris fellow and was recipient of the Saskatchewan Centennial medal. The Neil and Verna Buechler family fund was also a significant achievement for them.
After graduating from Edwards School of Business, receiving my Chartered Manager Designation from Canadian Institute of Management as well as various other professional designations and working as a Manager with the Ministry of Central Services for the Province of Saskatchewan, I felt I was in a position to begin my own legacy.
In 2016 my mother passed away from cancer and in 2018 my brother also passed away from cancer. This sadness prompted our family to consider an undertaking which would create a legacy in their honor and one that would have a deep meaning to them. In addition, this would be so special that it could be enjoyed by countless hundreds of people who care deeply for abused and neglected animals. A gazebo was built on the SPCA grounds, with the inscription over the entrance ‘Buechler Family Pet Oasis in loving memory of Verna and Curtis Buechler’.
My parents made the decision easy for me to establish the Jill Marie Buechler fund. I felt it was the right time to consolidate my gift giving, supporting initiatives which are important to me. I will also be supporting other charities as well.