Interview with Greg Vanden Kroonenberg (aka GVK)
Interview with Greg Vanden Kroonenberg (aka GVK)
Greg Vanden Kroonenberg (aka GVK), multimedia specialist, 2004 - 2023
Greg Vanden Kroonenberg with therapeutic clowns
Can you tell us about you and the role you played at Holland Bloorview?
I’m Greg Vanden Kroonenberg. I am a recently retired multimedia specialist at Holland Bloorview where I worked for close to 20 years.
That’s a long time in the organization. Can you share some of your memorable experiences during your time?
There were many individual experiences that stand out for me during my tenure at Holland Bloorview. I think the most well known day was an auction item that my colleagues and I purchased to support fundraising for the foundation. Without going into any details, the fact that our organization could combine fun and fundraising together seamlessly is in itself a testament to what our culture is like at Holland Bloorview. I was also involved in other great events put on by various factions of the organization, like being a member of a winning foursome at the annual golf tournament, playing on three different children’s music CDs with some real life celebrities, getting to emcee the Halloween staff costume events and creating an endless stream of videos for various departments, both funny and serious. I also had the privilege of working closely with the therapeutic clowns, both past and present. These are all things that I would say stand out above all in my experience at Holland Bloorview. Let me add, working with some fabulous teams sure made my day-to-day experience remarkable.
I can’t thank enough all the amazing people I worked with on a daily basis. They helped make each day new and a great experience for me. No two days were the same. They were, for the most part, all very memorable.
That’s a long time in the organization. Can you share some of your memorable experiences during your time?
There were many individual experiences that stand out for me during my tenure at Holland Bloorview. I think the most well known day was an auction item that my colleagues and I purchased to support fundraising for the foundation. Without going into any details, the fact that our organization could combine fun and fundraising together seamlessly is in itself a testament to what our culture is like at Holland Bloorview. I was also involved in other great events put on by various factions of the organization, like being a member of a winning foursome at the annual golf tournament, playing on three different children’s music CDs with some real life celebrities, getting to emcee the Halloween staff costume events and creating an endless stream of videos for various departments, both funny and serious. I also had the privilege of working closely with the therapeutic clowns, both past and present. These are all things that I would say stand out above all in my experience at Holland Bloorview. Let me add, working with some fabulous teams sure made my day-to-day experience remarkable.
I can’t thank enough all the amazing people I worked with on a daily basis. They helped make each day new and a great experience for me. No two days were the same. They were, for the most part, all very memorable.
Do you recall a story or family that has impacted you in any way at all?
What is most impactful for me is the interaction, not with one individual client but with all the kids and their families. These are the things that will forever leave an impression on my life. By attending the Bloorview School Authority assemblies on a regular basis, witnessing all the Halloween parades, working with the family advisory committee (FAC), and being involved in the Bloorview Research Institute (BRI) events, which always included family involvement, I was able to have real conversations with various families and the kids. I was able to get a firsthand description of their real life experiences. I was able to better understand that families who associate with Holland Bloorview were not looking for pity or handouts; they simply want to enable their children to fit in and be accepted. For example, during the filming of many of the Clown TV segments, I was able to connect with kids individually. I found they just want to have fun. They just want to play and be kids. The parents were so appreciative of the work that we do. I heard unending stories of vast improvements in their child’s development during their stay. I saw kids leaving months after experiencing therapy in a totally different state and mindset than when they first came aboard. These are the type of images that are burned into my memory of Holland Bloorview.
On a more individual basis, I remember getting direct feedback from a parent which was very inspirational. I was fortunate enough to receive spotlights from parents and families for my involvement in FAC and Clown TV, and from the video projects that I did. I also recall a parent approached me after we returned from a live assembly at the school. This parent took the time to thank me for helping make their virtual experience during the pandemic seem very real. And it was feedback that really impacted my view of the organization as a whole.
You must have interacted with a whole range of staff from the time you joined to the time you left. Do you want to share your experience with other staff?
What I would say about the staff is we worked together cohesively. There’s a definite feel of family and community among the staff and the organization prides itself on that. The culture is the best culture I’ve ever worked in. Based on my past experiences, the culture at Holland Bloorview is like no other as far as working together to achieve the common goal, which is to help the families and kids better their experiences and their life moving forward.
A healthy team is a top commitment of the organization. Did you feel supported, cared for by the organization?
I did. I felt supported. I also felt the organization helped to stretch you out a little bit professionally. For example, I was asked to work with staff and volunteers in a program called Safe Talk, which focused on suicide awareness for everyone. That was out of my comfort zone. But it really helped me grow as an individual and professionally. I also got very involved in the joint occupational health and safety committee. I became a certified member, which means they sent me to get the proper training to sit on the committee in a greater capacity. I co-chaired it for many years. These are the types of things the leadership at Holland Bloorview helps you with. They love that you do your job well, but they want to encourage you to expand on your abilities and make you a better person overall, professionally and personally.
125. That’s a big milestone. Do you have any special message? Any hopes or aspirations for the future of the organization?
It’s just amazing to see how far we’ve come as an organization. I’m excited to see where it’s going. We need to remember to always ensure that you include some fun in your work, amongst yourselves or amongst the clients that we serve.
Looking back at my career, it’s easy for me to see how Holland Bloorview incorporates their values every day. I mean, courage and resilience is practiced daily through our interaction with clients and families. And compassion is lived out, not daily, but moment-by-moment, every day, everything we do in the organization is wrapped around compassion; a value that is evident to anyone who walks in the halls of Holland Bloorview.
The other one thing I do want to mention is the innovation. It’s an exciting offshoot of the great work we do. I get excited about our up and coming technology that I see in the Bloorview Research Institute (BRI), like the Brain Computer Interface (BCI), and all the other various programs they’ve got going on there.
It’s so exciting to see our research institute enabling every child to have a voice. Our innovation is not only in BRI, but it’s evident in the whole building; our meeting spaces, our hallways, our elevators, and even outside the grounds, like the accessible playgrounds. That’s due to our commitment to innovation and it’s going to take us well into the future. We’ll be a leading organization and be admired and duplicated by many organizations in the future. That’s what I would like to see.