58 BCBusiness February 2015
"We both believe strongly in
helping others," Brian stresses. "We believe
it's an obligation, given how fortunately we
ourselves are able to live." Whether that
help is advice, money or resources, such as
Aritzia's recent Full of Heart initiative to raise
money for Cause We Care, the couple follows the approach of
first helping family and those closest to them then working
outwards.
Brian says his wife is "a big believer in giving back." Andrea
founded the first Run for the Cure, which raises money for
the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, in Toronto in 1992;
as chair, she was instrumental in taking it across the country
in 1994 and sat on the
CBCF B.C. chapter for five years after
moving to Vancouver in 1999. Her husband explains Cause We
Care emerged after observing the grim daily reality of Vancou-
ver's Downtown Eastside (Aritzia's office is in Gastown). "The
plight of single mothers living below the poverty line was a
cause that really resonated with her."
Andrea emphasizes the "staggering" statistics around
child poverty—that with eight out of 10 lone-parent families in
Vancouver being headed by females, 25 per cent of those are
living below the poverty line. "If there is something we can do
to create a brighter outcome for these families, then we want
to try to do it," she says. "For many, like us, we give for our
own personal reasons. We don't look for loud ways to publi-
cize what we do on a personal level, and many others feel the
same way. Everyone knows why it's important to give back—if
you can, you should. It's pretty simple."
n
Brian Hill + Andrea Thomas Hill
Bri a n hil l , c eo oF a ri t z i a L p, a nd a nDre a t hom as hil l ,
F ounde r a nd cH a ir oF c ause W e c a r e F oundat ion
W h y
T h e y
G i v e
"We give for our
own personal rea-
sons. We don't look
for loud ways to
publicize what we
do on a personal
level, and many
others feel the
same way. Every-
one knows why it's
important to give
back—if you can,
you should. It's
pretty simple"
—Andrea Thomas Hill
©
national post (amoryn enGel)
