Thelma Dillon

Thelma modelling the full regalia of the Manobo Tribe, Province of Agusan Del Sur, Philcan Mosaic Festival, July 2018

Ten years ago, one watching the annual Canada Day parade in Cobourg, Ontario wouldn’t have seen any representation of immigrant cultures. Last year’s parade featured the traditional costumes of cultures from all corners of the world, from China to India, Korea to Columbia, Hawaii to Spain, all gathering together to celebrate diversity and patriotism.

Thelma Dillon is the founder and driving force behind the Northumberland Multicultural Dance Troupe. She watched that parade in Cobourg ten years ago. “I was a new minority in Cobourg,” she remembers. “I felt unrepresented. I knew that there had to be others who felt the same way.”

The following year, Thelma appeared in the parade for the first time. Since then, her dance troupe has grown to include dancers representing the many cultures who have made their homes in Northumberland County, as well as invited guests from cities throughout Ontario joining in to present their cultural traditions at festivals and events. The troupe maintains a packed performance schedule of fund and consciousness-raising events both within Northumberland County and farther afield in Ottawa and Toronto. Thelma is the Troupe Manager, Choreographer and Performance Coordinator.

Northumberland Multicultural Dance Troupe, Cobourg, Canada Day 2018

With Northumberland-Peterborough South MP Kim Rudd, October 2018

Her efforts to promote multiculturalism have been widely recognized by all levels of government as well as by numerous multicultural organizations. Thelma and husband Terry Dillon were honoured with the Canada 150 Constituency Award for the riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South in 2017, for their “acts of kindness, volunteerism, quiet dignity and foresight". The certificate awards them "the proud designation of “community hero”. They were also recognized with the Distinguished Community Service Award in the Town of Cobourg Civic Awards ceremony in April 2018. The Dillons were chosen by MP Kim Rudd to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Cobourg last year.

One might think that someone capable of such astounding achievements must have grown up with every opportunity for education and self development. Not so. Thelma was born into extreme poverty in the Philippines, the sixth in a line of twelve children. The family’s fortunes were forever changed when one of her sisters married a native Canadian who sponsored their entry to the country. He was “the kindest human being I’ve ever known,” Thelma says. Her parents and eight of her siblings relocated to Canada through her brother-in-laws’s sponsorship.

She arrived in Ottawa in 1991 at the age of 17, without knowing a word of English. Her student VISA required that she complete three semesters of high school. Determined to receive her diploma, she dedicated herself to schoolwork seven days per week and worked with a tutor on the weekends. “I felt like I wasn’t ready to graduate,” she recalls, “but they handed me my diploma and pushed me out into the world”.

Thelma then went on to college, enrolling in a three year Business Administration program. She remembers feeling “terrified” that her command of the language was inadequate to address the task ahead. She met her future husband Terry at the beginning of her third year in college and they were married in 1995 shortly after her graduation. They opened the first internet cafe in Ottawa, and subsequently the Filipino Karaoke Bar.

Terry had grown up in Northumberland County and the couple eventually closed the doors on their business interests and moved to Bewdley, the home of his parents. They moved often during their early years, living briefly in Hastings where Thelma worked as a waitress. Their second son was born during a short return to Ottawa before they settled in Bancroft in 2006.

“After awhile, I realized that I wasn’t interested in business administration,” Thelma remembers. “But it wasn’t until 2005 that I first realized what it was that I did want to do – help take care of people.” The turning point came when her father was diagnosed with dementia and Thelma was a regular visitor at his nursing home. She envisioned herself in the role of the caregivers she saw at the nursing home and knew that it was the right path for her. Her first step towards her newly-identified goal was to become a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) instructor, and later a trainer of other NAMI instructors. “I still had a drive to do more,” she recalls. “I decided to take the next big step and enter the nursing program at Loyalist College”.

It was a challenging time for the Dillons. They’d previously founded SoundsXtreme.com, a full-time wedding and school DJ business which Terry stills runs today. Terry had also opened The Internet Café when they moved to Bancroft. They had two children at home and Thelma attended Bancroft Loyalist College to complete her Registered Practical Nursing program. She became pregnant with their third child halfway through the program and had three sons by the time she received her nursing diploma.

After many years of renting, the couple decided to buy their first and forever house in 2009. They chose the Town of Cobourg, where Terry had grown up and attended school. Just prior to completing her Nursing Consolidation at the Northumberland Hills Hospital, Thelma had been offered a position as a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) at the Golden Plough Lodge there.

As they already had three boys, they figured that the law of averages was in favour of their giving birth to a girl, so Thelma became pregnant with their fourth child, another boy. Their fifth child, also a son, passed away at birth.

As well as her passions for nursing, leading the Multicultural Dance Troupe and family life, Thelma has been licensed to teach several modules of the Zumba Fitness program for the past seven years. She’s delivered Zumba classes to adults and older adults in Cobourg, Grafton, Centreton and Port Hope as well as teaching Zumba Kids in numerous elementary and secondary schools throughout Northumberland County. She continues to teach a Zumba Gold (seniors) class at the Cobourg Community Centre every Thursday. “Zumba is multicultural dance,” she says with a smile.

Zumba has proven to be another valuable promotional tool in the Dillon arsenal. Thelma has spearheaded Zumba fundraisers for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, the United Way, Cornerstone Women Violence Prevention Centre and the New Canadians Centre of Cobourg. She also supports the United Way through organizing and volunteering at the annual Dragon Boat Festival where she and her Multicultural Dance team walked away with the “Best Dressed Team” award in 2015 and 2018. The troupe team was joined in their dragon boat last year by David Piccini, MPP of Northumberland-Peterborough South and several of the Hastings' Blades of Glory knights.

Thelma and Terry Dillon, December 2018

Terry is a force in his own right and the couple partner on everything they do. “It’s all about teamwork,” Thelma says. “Neither of us could do what we do without the other.” Terry founded MulticulturalFirstAid.com, a volunteer organization providing free Canadian Red Cross first aid training for refugees and newcomers to the region. They offer event medical services with a fully equipped ambulance and trained volunteers, who raise funds to subsidize the free training for the refugees and newcomers.  Thelma and their eldest son, Zachary, both volunteer with the organization as Medical Responders.

Terry’s efforts in this direction were recognized with his own Distinguished Community Service award from the Town of Cobourg last year.

Terry and Thelma also founded MulticulturalRadio.ca, an online multicultural radio station that streams Top 40 hits from music charts around the world. Broadcasting 24 hours daily, the station offers high quality music in many languages and promotes multiculturalism throughout the listening audience. They have listeners in well over 50 countries and thousands of Twitter followers. MulticulturalRadio.ca and the Northumberland Multicultural Dance Troupe also coordinate and host the entertainment lineup for the annual Multicultural Day Festival in Port Hope.

Multiculturalism is Thelma’s true passion. Her dance troupe owns an extensive collection of over 300 multicultural costumes, including jewellery, headdresses and beautifully handmade dresses from cultures all over the world. Some of them have been lucky finds at thrift stores and some have been donated by supporters. Her prized acquisition is a collection of garments from the renowned Siningtala Dance Company of the Philippines which she was able to purchase with the support of the County of Northumberland. Thelma can’t say enough about the support she’s received from the County. At a time when her collection filled every nook and cranny in the Dillon home, the County provided her with much-needed space to house her clothing and accessories. One of her most memorable moments from 2018 was her dance troupe's unexpected win of the prestigious “Best Costume Design” trophy at the largest Filipino festival in Canada, the Mubuhay Philippines Festival in Toronto.

Rehearsing Bulaklakan dance for Toronto performance, April 2018, Photo by Montse Alvarado

April 2018, near Cobourg

Thelma with Siningtala Dance Company of the Philippines

Rechelle Everden, Northumberland County candidate for Mrs. Philippines of the World, Photo by Montse Alvarado

Thelma already has a busy schedule of performances, festivals, events and fundraisers lined up for January to September 2019. She’s very excited to support her chosen candidate, Rechelle Everden, representing Northumberland County in the Mrs. Philippines of the World contest, to be held in May in Toronto. Rechelle is “down to earth, lovely, helpful and kind,” says Thelma. "This beautiful lady immigrated to Canada from the Philippines at the age of 14 and now works as an international trade consultant."

Plans for January include a Filipino Community festival in Ajax, a Zumbathon at Premier Dance Studio in Cobourg, raising funds for disaster relief in the Philippines, and a celebration of International Day at Trinity College in Port Hope. Subsequent months will see events in Ajax, Port Hope, Grafton, Peterborough, Oshawa, Cobourg, Brighton and multiple visits to Toronto.

"My successes are only possible because of the efforts of others who have come before me, and continue to work with me, and give their support to promoting the same values," Thelma says. "These values are community, compassion, diversity and multiculturalism, and they are shared by many in Northumberland County. We have many superstars in the community who have made a huge impact on peoples’ lives. Of the many wonderful and supportive people, Carrie Osborne is most noteworthy, and a woman I very much admire." Carrie was one of the first Filipino immigrants in Northumberland County, settling in Port Hope in 1972.

Thelma Dillon is a veritable powerhouse. The hardship she faced in her early years and her struggles to embrace the opportunity she was so fortunately granted to escape that life have made her the person she is today, she says. That person is one who believes that every human being is equal and that every culture should be celebrated with joy and colour. “I never judge,” she says. “You can’t tell by looking what a person has gone through in their lives or even that day. Everyone deserves respect.”

This is an excerpt from Thelma’s story in “150 Stories and Images of Arrival”, produced by Northumberland County for Canada’s 150th birthday, celebrating the contribution that immigrants have made to life in the County:
“My favourite part of living in Canada is the opportunity that exists for everyone. You just have to remember “don’t give up”. If you have a goal, stay focused on it and keep moving forward because the only way to fail is to stop trying. This has gotten me where I want to be in life”.

She has undoubtedly inspired countless others to do the same.

Links:
Thelma, Multicultural Dance Troupe, Zumba with Thelma on facebook, www.facebook.com/thelma.dillon5
Zumba with Thelma, zumbaparty.ca
Multicultural First Aid, website MulticulturalFirstAid.com
Multicultural Radio, website multiculturalradio.ca

Article on Carrie Osborne, one of Northumberlands first Filipino immigrants, Northumberland News 2015