Our Founder
Dora Anie, Founder
August 23, 1949 – June 11, 2019
Born in Mepom, Ghana (1949), Dora Anie immigrated to Canada with her husband in 1973, and settled in Hamilton where they raised two daughters, Barbara and Ann-Marie. In 2004, Dora founded Schools of Dreams, and dedicated her life to helping children in rural Ghana access education. In 2018, after more than a decade of work, SOD gained official CRA status as a registered charity. Sadly, our founder passed away from ovarian cancer in June 2019. Her family granted one of her final wishes, which was to donate $10,000 to Schools of Dreams to help continue Dora’s legacy. After her passing, Dora was featured among the “12 most remarkable Canadians who died in 2019” in the Globe & Mail national newspaper.
Dora’s Community Involvement Summary
Dora attended numerous events and conferences throughout Hamilton and surrounding areas.
Volunteer Organizations
- Helping Hands Street Mission
- Out of the Cold program at MacNab Street Presbyterian Church
- Guest speaker at local schools
- Wellwood (Cancer Support network)
- Living Rock Ministries (Organization for at risk youth)
- Session Member and Elder at MacNab Street Presbyterian Church
Memberships
- Zonta
- People in Connection
- The Rotary Club
- Ghana Association
- Hamilton Women’ s Connection
- Afro-Canadian Caribbean Association
Awards & Recognition
- Canada’s 100 Black Women To Watch
- Globe & Mail, “12 most remarkable Canadians who died in 2019”
- Endless Possibilities & Hope development, “The Women’s Courage Award” for Philanthropy”
- Province of Ontario Certificate, “Leading Women-Building Communities”
- Rotary Club of Ancaster, Am, Certificates
- Ghanaian-Canadian Achievement Award
- Nominee for Global & Mail Transformational Canadian Award
- Nominee for John C. Holland Award