What is Trailblazers?

Trailblazers are a dynamic donor community of the FAFM committed to driving innovation and positive change in the field of family medicine. Through this program, the FAFM engages recipients of the FAFM’s major awards in selecting strategic projects invited through a call for proposal, supporting and guiding them, to advance family medicine.

The idea for Trailblazers came from the appreciation of the remarkable pool of collective knowledge and experience in family medicine represented by the recipients of the FAFM’s major awards, such as the Reg L. Perkin Family Physician of the Year, Family Medicine Researcher of the Year, and the Ian McWhinney Family Medicine Education Award, among others. Trailblazers, with their collective talent and experience, are one of family medicine’s greatest assets. Through this program, we invite them to a community of their peers to lend their rich insight and voice to shape projects that advance the family medicine profession.

5 Five Things To Know About Trailblazers

• The Trailblazers program is funded through Trailblazers' own annual contributions, funds raised through other means and the annual proceeds from the Francine Lemire Legacy Endowment Fund.
• Trailblazers commit to contribute a minimum donation of $1,000 a year. Every dollar contributed by Trailblazers is used to fund their selected initiative.
• Trailblazers select one initiative among a roster of strategic projects that are proposed through an RFP process. They assume the role of adjudicators through a peer review-style process, culminating in the selection of the funded project.
• Trailblazers receive regular updates on the progress of their selected initiative, contribute their input and connect directly with the project leads.
• Trailblazers receive a charitable tax receipts for 100% of their contributions.

Impact

The first Trailblazers project

On January 31, 2022, the Trailblazers came together to select the project on which to focus their support. The Trailblazers designated their support to advance the Family Medicine Around the World Mapping Project: Lessons for Canada and Beyond led by the Besrour Centre.

“Mapping family medicine models around the world, which remain very variable, will improve our understanding of what attributes of our discipline lead to better population health outcomes. Above all, as the world vacillates between infectious and chronic phases of a global pandemic, a generalist perspective is needed at this time to integrate layers of care at the health system level."

- Dr. David Ponka, Director, The Besrour Centre for Global Family Medicine

Francine Lemire, Chair

Following her illustrious tenure as CFPC’s Executive Director and CEO and FAFM CEO, Dr. Francine Lemire, MD CM, CCFP, FCFP, CAE, ICD.D, OM identified the alignment of her legacy with the Foundation's strategic direction along themes that have been prominent in her work over the years: diversity, innovation, and health equity, amongst many others. Trailblazers provided the opportunity to solidify her legacy with the establishment of the Francine Lemire Legacy Endowment Fund, which supports the program in perpetuity.

Dr. Lemire serves as the Chair of the Trailblazers and, most recently, was appointed to the Order of Canada. This achievement is a testament to Dr. Lemire’s exceptional leadership in family medicine.