DELINE/FORT FRANKLIN
Patricia Modeste says it was her grandmother who first taught her the importance of giving to others.

Deline's Patricia Modeste was presented with a Wise Woman Award from the NWT Status of Women Council in February, recognizing her for her work in the community. - photo courtesy of NWT Status of Women Council

"I saw her doing that, always giving, always cooking. I saw her and she passed that on to me," Modeste said.

Modeste's spirit of giving was recognized this year by the NWT Status of Women Council, which presented her with a Wise Woman Award in February.

Modeste said she was shocked to learn that she had been selected for the award.

"I was surprised when one of my friends told me I was nominated," she said. "I thought, 'well, what did I do?' I know I didn't do anything big."

But it was the little things Modeste does for her community that earned her the recognition, according to information from the Status of Women Council.

"Patricia has been involved with community events, volunteering and healthy living for a very long time. She helps women in need either through counselling that is desperately needed or helping with personal needs like food," according to a statement from the council.

"She helps out with the local church and cooks for women during workshops and gatherings. Patricia is a model worker and a loving family woman with her community at the forefront of her mind; she is always giving back when she can."

Modeste said she enjoys volunteering her time. She is always on hand to help organize events for youth and elders, as well as helping with Deline's annual summer gathering.

She said volunteering shows young people the importance of giving back to the community.

"It's good for our grandchildren and our youth to see how much we want this for them and they see us volunteering and doing stuff for them, for their sports or for any other events," she said. "It could change one person or two, it could make them choose a good path in their life. That's how I see it. That's why I volunteer."

Modeste said that includes making her home a place where people stop in and enjoy meals together. Like her grandmother before her, Modeste makes sure Sunday meals are special.

"Everyday she had something on the stove for people to stop by and eat, so I do the same at my house, too," she said. "Every Sunday, I would invite people or people would come by from church. I always have traditional food cooked for them or a meal."

Modeste said as a young girl, her grandmother showed her how crucial it is to help others, especially elders. She said if she sometimes refused a task, her grandmother would remind her that in some cases, the food she was asked to deliver might be the only food the elder would have that day.

"That elder could pray for you to have a good life or to have a long life," she said. "When you give, even though the elder don't say anything, they still think of you in their prayers, and that's such an important thing."

Modeste said while she received the award, there are many others who deserve recognition. She said community leaders and other volunteers help make Deline a good place to live.

"I would have never done it without my husband and children and my friends," she said. "I volunteer with them."

Now a grandmother herself, Modeste said she strives to pass those lessons along to her children and grandchildren.

"I see them taking part in it, which I'm really proud of," she said.

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