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Meet Ashley Hilliard, Recreation Therapist at CHEO.
For Ashley, CHEO is a special place. It’s where she landed her dream job, where she found her voice as a recreation therapist, and ultimately what led to the adoption of her son, Dawson.
Early on, Ashley knew she wanted to work with kids with disabilities. When she started here in 2011, Ashley initially found it tough as summer can be a busy time, but she credits her fellow colleagues to helping her find her feet.
“I’m lucky that I started off with a really great team because they helped show me what recreation therapy at CHEO looks like,” she says.
What makes CHEO truly special for Ashley is “people’s passion for helping these kids. We often go above and beyond to help these kiddos. And not just them but their families. We show them open doors, not closed ones. That means not just sending them a link, but walking them through the process of what needs to be done. And if what they need is not within our scope, we find someone who can help.”
Like many staff at CHEO, Ashley eventually wanted to start her own family so she and her husband created a Facebook group to document their adoption journey.
In 2022, on the last night that Ashley was running her art program, a fellow staff member mentioned that she knew a child named Dawson who was ready for adoption.
The staff put Ashley in contact with Dawson’s foster family and right away, Dawson’s foster mom started calling them Mommy and Daddy. Two months later, Ashley and her husband welcomed Dawson into their home, a “surreal” experience for Ashley.
This year, Ashley celebrated 13 years with CHEO. To her, working at CHEO means she can’t imagine working any other place.
“We are so lucky to have CHEO’s resources and that these kids that we serve in rec therapy have access to CHEO. I’m grateful that I get to work at CHEO and interact with kids and families that we do.”
CHEO is filled with determined and passionate people like Ashley. Join us.