NewmarketToday continues its fifth annual tradition of marking the giving season by celebrating Newmarket's Community Angels — the people whose kindness, compassion and community spirit help make our town one of the best to live in the country.
Rob Clark has a compulsion to support a good cause and lend a hand to someone in need.
He prefers to do it quietly, behind the scenes, without drawing unneeded attention to the kindness and compassion that is his moral bedrock.
His humility clearly makes him uncomfortable to speak about his many good deeds, and he shifts in his chair, saying, "It feels like bragging when you start talking like this."
Clark will reluctantly acknowledge that kindness is a daily act for him, from small things like stepping up to pay the grocery bill for the person next in line who seems to be struggling, to bigger things like helping a charity with pro bono work and sponsoring charitable initiatives through his company.
The father of a 12-year-old son and two step-children appreciates the ripple effect that kindness has.
"If someone is having a bad day, and they're frustrated ... and you come in and help, that changes that person's energy, and they bring home a different mindset to their kids..."
He is quick to acknowledge his mother, Linda, as his role model.
"My Mom is the kindest and most nurturing human being," he said.
She was a nurse, and later a real estate agent, Clark said, and he grew up constantly seeing her kindness as she instinctively helped anyone in need.
"You learn and see how that makes you feel good. Ultimately, it's give and take. You give and you get a lot back, too," he said.
"Sometimes, it's hard saying no," he added, with a chuckle.
He said he sees the growing need in the town he loves, adding, "The disparity between the have and have-nots is becoming so big, and I see my own privilege a lot more, and it makes me feel guilty.
"I cannot walk by a person in need and not help," he added.
"I'm an underdog guy, through and through," he concluded.
He's the founder and principal of rcdesign — he was born and bred in Newmarket, and returned home after attending several universities (playing football) and living out West to buy the building on Main Street when he was in his mid-30s — and again, he shifts the spotlight to others, saying the community has supported his business and giving back is a way of showing gratitude.
He also knows that supporting community is a priority with his team of employees, and it's "built into the DNA" of his company. It has a "core values team" that organizes donations and sponsorships, most recently supporting families in need during the holidays.
"It's about caring — caring about the people you work beside, caring about your work, caring about your clients, your community — that threads through everything," he said.
Organizations close to his heart include Neighbourhood Network, where he is a longtime member of the steering committee, Inn From the Cold and he has client partnerships with multiple non-profit organizations, including Blue Door and the Children's Aid Society.
In 2011, his charitable initiatives were recognized with a Portrait of Giving Award.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor, one of his closest friends for more than 25 years, said Clark is giving to a fault.
"He can't stop himself. He sees other people's needs as greater than his own," he said. "He does so much to give back, far more than any one person can really grasp. He does it often very quietly and he kind of tries to avoid recognition or appreciation for it. He's one of those guys who doesn't see it ... as part of being a business, I think he sees it as part of the responsibility of being a human."
Clark is driven by strong core values, not just empathy, Taylor added, and has "very strong feelings" about inclusivity — he is a supporter of NACCA, York Pride, Pflag, Community Living — and the environment.
"He deeply believes in the equality and dignity of all people. So if there are people experiencing homelessness or don't have adequate food, to him, it's unacceptable.
"He wants to do his part, he wants to make sure he's part of the solution, building a better community, a more fair and equitable, healthier community. All of those things matter to him."
Taylor said Clark not only has a big heart, but a huge heart.
"He's incredibly empathetic. He literally feels for people, their disadvantages, their troubles. He's almost incapable of standing by and not doing something. And it's not always giving financial support or in-kind support from his business, he'll literally roll up his sleeves and do the work."
On a final note, "Rob's love of his community, his empathy toward others, his big heart, is also reflected in the fact he loves to hug everybody," Taylor added with an appreciative chuckle. "He's a very warm person."
