The Rural Ontario Institute is an organization established in 2010 that helps give voice to northern and rural communities and has been doing so since it’s inception. The ROI is an amalgamation of The Centre for Rural Leadership (TCRL) and The Ontario Rural Council (TORC) and their program entitled “Change Makers” has brought together emerging leaders from a broad range of business sectors, some of whom call The Valley their home.
Christina Raddatz , Owner /Operator of Renfrew County Doulas is one such individual who is proud to have been named one of the 2024-25 Rural Change Makers. Christina gives us a bit of insight as to what a Doula is and how they benefit expecting women:
Christina has owned the business since 2019 and although very successful was looking for ways to augment her business and community leadership skills when she delved into the Change Makers Program and she hasn’t looked back since. The purpose of the program, she says, is to connect small business owners and entrepreneurs with experts in many given fields who help to hone skills and find new potentials:
Graduates such as Raddatz now have the support of the ROI to pursue their given goals which in her case is the desire to bring a “wellness Centre” to her home town of Deep River and her vision of how this would look is very clear even from an early planning standpoint:
The biggest challenge she has at present is finding the space for such a facility within Deep River and she says that the types of supports she can provide will depend greatly on getting over that hurdle. Everything from sexual assault therapy to pregnancy loss and human trafficking will be addressed within the facility bridging a gap that she sees for such much needed services in The Valley.
Other ROI Change Makers from Renfrew County include Abbie Lakhan from Petawawa, Rachel Richer of Laurentian Hills and Sara Richer of Eganville.
(Written By: Richard Evans)