Volunteers made the difference

Volunteers made the difference
Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Jan. 8, 2003

They typically toil away without much recognition, but the good volunteers with the Burnaby Citizens Support Services department at city hall had a very busy holiday season.
The group, which co-ordinates virtually all of the city-run volunteer services in Burnaby, held its annual Christmas party for housebound seniors at Willingdon Church last month, and even though the event passed without much recognition at the time, it is worth mentioning their good work.
More than 180 seniors, many of whom do not have any family living nearby, were invited to the dinner, which was sponsored by Chevron Canada and The Beedie Foundation, and supported by Amica at Rideau Manor and Canada Way Lodge.
Besides the dinner and entertainment provided by the Burnaby district children's choir, a total of 68 food baskets were handed out to homebound seniors who otherwise may not have had any special Christmas treats at home.
"It is truly a tribute to all those who give from the heart to know that they have made someone's Christmas a time to remember," said Anne Waller, the acting administrator of CSS.
The Christmas dinner was part of the Outings for the Elderly program. Burnaby Citizens Support Services is kept running by a strong base of more than 200 volunteers in the community. Their mandate is to help people with health issues, problems and disabilities in Burnaby.

Students gave toys

Another holiday highlight came from Montecito school, where at least two classrooms helped to send new toys to children in Third World and developing countries.
Ms. Gaetz's Grade 3 class and Ms. Rusborne's kindergarten class filled 15 shoeboxes with toys for the Samaritan's Purse program, which is run in conjunction with the Christian-based Operation Christmas Child.

An optimistic trend?

Yet another holiday note that was missed during the hullabaloo of the season was the sixth annual distribution of Christmas hampers by the Burnaby Optimists Club.
This year, a politically diverse group of Optimists were on hand for the big event, with helpers ranging from Liberal MLA Harry Bloy to his one-time foe and past NDP candidate Bart Healey.
Among the other volunteer who showed up for the big hamper distribution day were a good number of Burnaby RCMP officers, including Sgt. Doug Ferguson, the current Optimistic club president, and Consts. Ernesto Angeles and Alain Benjamin.
Others on hand for the event included club v-p Nick Kvenich, his son Nickolas Kvenich, community police volunteer Ken Ryan, longtime club member Kim Baylis.
Last year, the Optimists donated more than $40,000 worth of cash and services to a variety of groups and individuals in the city.
"It makes you feel good when you can bring together people in the community to help in providing some Christmas cheer to those that need a helping hand," said the club veep.