Volunteers Recognized for Service
On Friday April 7, 2017, volunteers from 4 student nutrition programs were recognized by Dave Levac, MPP for Brant for their volunteer service. Adults are recognized for the length of time they have volunteered for one organization from 5-65 years and youth are recognized for 2 or more years. The 2017 Ontario Volunteer Service Award celebration was held at the Petofi Hungarian Cultural Club with over 112 volunteers from 27 organizations receiving awards.
Coral Adlam and Dave Levac
Chloe Svec and David Tysoski
Coral Adlam from Agnes G. Hodge Public School has been helping her mother Nadine with the student nutrition program since she was in kindergarten. Now at age 11, Coral organizes her student peers with jobs and tasks to facilitate the breakfast program. Coral chops, preps, fills the bins and cleans them too. The nutrition program (at Agnes Hodge School) benefits directly from Coral’s leadership skills, which made her an easy choice to nominate for a youth service award.
Chloe Svec and David Tysoski are students at St. Theresa School. The morning meal is organized by secretary Cheryl Hewitson, and the students ensure that bins are delivered to the classrooms before the bell and returned to the kitchen in a timely manner. According to Hewitson “Chloe is a very responsible student. Her enthusiastic and caring ways have given her a sense of ownership of making sure the bins get to the classes in the morning.” She goes on to say that, “Volunteering with the breakfast program gives David a sense of belonging. He takes his job of returning the bins to the kitchen very seriously. He makes sure that left overs are put away accordingly”. These two students add to the success of the program at St. Theresa School.
Marg Barrett, Doreen Johnson and Barb Telfer have volunteered with the Terrace Hill Breakfast Club since 1999. Every Wednesday, a group of volunteers provide a hot breakfast to over 100 students from Graham Bell-Victoria School as well as Grandview Public School. When asked about the breakfast program, a student from Graham Bell Victoria School said, “The Wednesday breakfast club is something I love going to because the food is great. My favourite is the breakfast pizza. The food helps me learn because I am not hungry after I go to it”.
Dora Kuilboer, Doreen Robinson and Peggy Burns have been volunteering with the breakfast program at Sacred Heart School since 2002. Twice a week, breakfast is prepared for the students who arrive early to enjoy a meal before school. Many Sacred Heart students take the bus and volunteers are always ready to serve breakfast as the students arrive. Jodi Hurnaki, student nutrition program coordinator said, “Dora, Doreen and Peggy are loved by the kids and greatly appreciated by myself and the other volunteers and school staff. They always do a wonderful job. We are very lucky to have them volunteer at Sacred Heart”.
As Canada and Ontario commemorate their 150th anniversaries in 2017, volunteers remind us of the important role civic responsibility plays in building a strong, caring and inclusive society.
In the words of Laura Albanese, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, “The support provided by Ontario’s army of volunteers is indispensable. Whether it’s empowering the vulnerable, comforting the sick, raising awareness or raising funds, our volunteers work tirelessly to make our communities and our province a better place in which to live.”
Back row from left to right: Sherron Birkett, President, Brant Food For Thought, Dora Kuilboer, Dave Levac, Marg Barrett, Doreen Robinson, Peggy Burns, Nancy Waldschmidt, Volunteer Development Coordinator, Brant Food For Thought. Front row: Chloe Svec and Coral Adlam.
A special thank you to our award winning volunteers and to all those parents, educational staff and community volunteers who dedicate their time to student nutrition programs in Brantford and the County of Brant.
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” — Elizabeth Andrew