Around 60 volunteers were honoured for their selfless work for the Ridge Meadows Hospice Society.
The Volunteer Appreciation dinner took place on Thursday, April 18, at The Ranch Pub and Grill where the volunteers were treated to a dinner, door prizes, and gifts.
‘Every Moment Matters’ was the theme this year, explained Lesley Willis, executive director of the hospice society. Every guest was gifted a clock fact to stick up on the wall to remind their volunteers to use their time wisely for their own self care.
Door prizes were also handed out to everyone and gift baskets filled with items like candles, comfort items, and barbecue sets, were raffled off after dinner.
The event was tied into National Volunteer Week, when volunteers across the country are highlighted to recognize the impact they make on their communities.
Willis is very thankful for her volunteers and appreciates the skills and talents they bring to the society.
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“There’s limited staff here as a non-profit organization and that’s intentional to keep your overhead down so you can use those funds to serve your community. And who serves the community doing that front line work, in grief support and in the hospice and in our thrift stores and at our events, are our volunteers,” explained Willis.
People in the community, continued Willis, who have been able to offer the gift of time to others in the community who are experiencing grief and loss.
“They are the hospice society,” said Willis of her volunteers.
“It wouldn’t exist without our volunteer team and we wouldn’t be able to serve our community the way we do without them,” she said.