Gladys Evelyn Taylor-Cook has volunteered with and been a mentor to troubled Aboriginal youth and adults throughout Manitoba for nearly three decades. A recognized First Nations Dakota elder for 18 of those years, she is a role model in First Nations communities.
For the past 26 years, she has spent an average of three days a week volunteering at the Agassi Youth Centre and the Women’s Correctional Institute in Portage la Prairie. Acting as both an advisor and mother figure, she forms a special bond with the inmates whom she assists on their journey to recovery. She has also participated in numerous sharing circles for sexually-abused inmates.
In addition, over the past 30 years, Taylor-Cook has been a volunteer with the St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Portage la Prairie and the United Church in Beausejour. For 12 years, she has been a respected member of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP).
She has received numerous awards for her volunteerism including
the Governor General’s Award, the Order of Rupertsland and the Manitoba Volunteer of the Year.
