If you ever need proof that music can change lives for the better, look no further than Phil Vanloo.
The former youth corrections officer has made a name for himself providing entertainment for numerous causes, whether it be DJ-ing the local Terry Fox Run or visiting elderly care homes with his acoustic guitar and a songbook, he is guaranteed to bring joy to the patients.
The journey to this point has been an organic one for the 63-year-old Vanloo, who repeatedly insists he’s not looking for fame or recognition.
“I don’t do this for the thanks. I just like to see the faces singing in the audience,” he says.
“It’s a euphoric feeling, knowing you’re bringing joy to people. I can’t get enough of it.”
The image of a guitar-slinging entertainer doesn’t necessarily jibe with that of a muscular and fit, experienced corrections officer.
But Vanloo was never a typical prison guard.
In fact, he says his 25-year career in corrections started quite accidentally.
“My mom worked at Woodlands [School, the former New Westminster institution for mentally disabled children],” he recalls, “and I would go in there sometimes as a kid with my guitar and sing for the patients.
“I was also a swimmer, and I suggested to my mom I could volunteer at the pool there as a lifeguard, and she loved the idea.”
Vanloo looked up the number for Woodlands in the phone book and set up an interview. Unbeknownst to him, he had accidentally called the Willingdon Youth Detention Centre.
Long story short, he got the volunteer job at Willingdon, which two years later landed him a paying gig in corrections.
Fortunately for everyone involved, the job soon fit Vanloo perfectly.
“You know, when you start out, you’re kind of like Robocop, and you’re just doing the job and laying down the law,” he says.
“But soon you start to realize, ‘These are just kids,’ and it’s not about what they did, but who they are. And it just felt good to give back and help these kids realize their potential and get them back on track.”
As Vanloo says, in what seems like a mantra for his life, “I love helping people.”
Now that he had an outlet for that desire, he soon found himself looking for more ways to give back to the community.
He started volunteering for the Maple Ridge Youth Diversion Program about 10 to 15 years ago, working one-on-one with at-risk youth, giving them “a chance to get away from the court and prison system by recognizing and making restitution for their petty crimes,” he says.
His love of performing music brought him to the DJ world, and for the past 25 years he’s provided the entertainment for the Terry Fox Run as ‘Phil in the Blanks.’
The gig is a personal one for Vanloo, who has lost several friends and family members to cancer, including his mother.
“I’m there from the start of the day til after the last runner crosses the finish line, because I just want to support what these people are doing and make the day fun for them,” he says. “That one’s really important to me. I’ll be doing that one until they ask me to stop.”
The experience of seeing not only his mom, but also his dad (who passed away from Alzheimer’s) spend their remaining years in care homes also inspired Vanloo to bring music to other elderly patients.
“My mom would always say when I visited her, ‘Bring your guitar, play for me,’ and I never did,” he says. “That always filled me with guilt, so this is kind of my way of making up for that. Hopefully she’s listening up there.”
Vanloo started a musical duo with a corrections colleague, dubbing themselves The Pensioneers, and were soon visiting several care homes in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Their act consisted of standards their audience would know, and even involved Vanloo dressing up as Elvis Presley for a run of King classics.
His colleague recently passed away from cancer, but that hasn’t slowed down Vanloo’s performances. For him, it’s not something he can just stop, not when he’s bringing happiness to people who need it the most.
“What fulfills me the most, what makes it all worthwhile, is when people come up to me after [the performance] and say, ‘That song brought me back to when I was a teenager in New York,’ or ‘That was my husband’s favourite song, and he would have loved that,’” Vanloo says.
“That’s why you do it, you know? It’s why I’ll be doing this until the day I go.”