The Heart of Volunteering
Sorrento and Area Community Health Centre
By Celia Dyer,
Cheryl Lindberg with Liam Cooper learning about local ecosystems (Photo contributed)
Imagine your everyday life without volunteers. No First Responders or volunteer fire departments. No one to operate the Food Bank. Our local Health Centres couldn’t function. Community arts and sports programs for our kids wouldn’t happen. No one to run our community halls. No one to go above and beyond to protect and champion our environment. None of the many volunteer services that are available to seniors and other vulnerable people in our area…
The consequences for our community are mind-boggling. Multiply that by the thousands of small communities across Canada and essentially, without volunteerism, you have a society that falls apart.
Statistics Canada tells us that eight out of 10 Canadians volunteer. Collectively, volunteers contribute five billion hours to their chosen organizations each year. This is the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time jobs.
What motivates nearly 30 million Canadians to devote time and energy to causes outside of their daily responsibilities?
I spoke to several local volunteers and discovered a rich diversity of motivations for their social conscience.
Cheryl Lindberg volunteers with The Adams River Salmon Society. Her work with the Society is a perfect pairing of passion and desire to contribute. She is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the natural world and is eager to share her interest, especially through the Society’s educational programs.
“Working with The Adams River Salmon Society is a great fit for me. You can’t help but be connected when you live so close to this incredible natural phenomenon. Being involved with the interpretive program at the Salute to the Sockeye was so much fun. The organization provides lots of opportunities to learn and participate.”
To watch Cheryl teach children about local ecosystems is to see someone share her natural gifts and engage in what she truly enjoys.
Linda Eberle
(Scoop photo)
Linda Eberle heads up the Sorrento and Area Hospice Society which loans out medical equipment to people in need. She was a caregiver in her working life and after retirement she realized there were gaps in community services that she was well-equipped to fill. She sees the Hospice Society as being an essential service and that as a citizen, it is her responsibility to make sure it is available to people in our community.
“We’re put on Earth to care for one another and this is an extension of my life’s work. We all need to feel connected to our community. People have done this work before me and I can’t let this vital service disappear.”
Linda’s commitment goes beyond providing wheelchairs and crutches. You can sense her genuine humanity and steadfastness in doing something because it’s the right thing to do.
Marianne Romyn has lived in Notch Hill for many years. She is a volunteer with the Notch Hill Hall and epitomizes the long-time dedication and loyalty people have to their rural communities.
“It’s important to keep our community halls active. My in-laws were very involved with the hall and now that I am retired and have the time, I believe it is my turn to follow; to give back. You hope that when you need to step back, the next generation will step forward and keep the hall and our community going. Our Notch Hill Hall has so much charm and, at over 100 years old, is one of the oldest in the area. It’s important to keep its memory alive.”
Notch Hill Community volunteers L to R: Rayna Vanderhoek, Tina Cannon, Marianne Romyn, Patricia Power, serving delicious food at Notch Hill’s recent Flea Market. (Photo contributed)
Service, passion, devotion to community… values that bind us together and underscore the reasons why many of us step out of our day-to-day to volunteer.
The Sorrento and Area Community Health Centre thrives because of the volunteers who believe our residents should have access to quality primary medical care. Heartfelt thanks to Allan Hanson, Barry Stokes, Brittany Lawrence, Dani Gratto, Eldene Lindberg and Michelle Moore for the important work they do.
Here’s a challenge for you: Over the next week, count how many interactions you have that involve volunteers. You will be amazed at the depth of volunteerism in your neighbourhood. And when we celebrate National Volunteer Week from April 16-22, please find a moment to acknowledge the volunteers in your life.
