The Community Service Volunteer Awards program is not currently active. This information is for archival purposes only.
The Toronto Volunteers of the Year awards celebrate the spirit of volunteerism and showcase the vast spectrum of voluntary service and citizen participation that sustains the vibrancy and well being of our diverse communities.
This program is jointly sponsored by the City of Toronto and the Volunteer Centre of Toronto. Congratulations to last year's recipients:
Elizabeth McClelland
For Beth McClelland nothing is too much trouble. Beth has been coming into The Thistletown Seniors Centre in Etobicoke every Monday and Wednesday for the past ten years to perform a multitude of administrative tasks from answering the many phone inquiries about the Centre to designing flyers and newsletters. On many occasions if typing is not completed at the Centre, she takes it home to complete the assignment. When staff is on vacation, Beth comes into the Centre every day to get the telephone messages and make call-backs.
When she is not at the Thistletown Seniors Centre Beth can be found helping out at many other agencies in the community - supporting the needs of the frail elderly or the Cancer Society.
Joan Wood
Joan Wood has contributed an estimated 2500 hours of her time to helping Meals Here and There Inc. She has been a weekly volunteer driver and runner for 20 years. The hours Joan contributes makes it possible for many elderly, frail or disabled people to enjoy a hot meal every day. She also takes time to assess the well-being of her clients.
Joan's involvement with this agency does not stop here. She has been active on the Board of Directors, Personnel Committee and the Nominating Committee.
With genuine concern for her community, Joan uses her oranizational and people skills in other ways, including helping out at Riverdale Hospital and Glen Rhodes United Church.
Stanley Gershman
For 30 years, Stanley Gershman has been the legal advisor for Community Information Fairview. As a founding member, he has continued to contribute from 6 to 10 hours each week to ensure the appropriate operation of this well used information centre.
Stanley wrote the constitution, created the Legal Advice Clinic and has been a member, and is now the President of the Board of Directors. As president he makes himself available for both regular and special meetings. Not only does he act as legal advisor, Stanley oversees all projects and changes at the Centre, as well as helping to raise large amounts of money. He has been a great contributor to the growth of this Centre.
Doris Herridge
In 1970, after a determined journey to recover from the paralysis of polio, Doris Herridge joined the Women's Association of the Glenview Presbyterian Church. Although totally involved in the Annual Church Bazaar, Doris soon took on the responsibility for distributing Meals on Wheels every Thursday. To this day,in spite of a post-polio reoccurence, she continues to recruit, co-ordinate and care for 25 volunteers each Thursday. But now she is organizing the delivery of 165 meals instead of 30 to the sick, frail, elderly and needy in her community.
Not content to give tirelessly to the Women's Association, Doris has campaigned for many years for the Canadian Cancer Society, the Salvation Army, and has contributed her time to the Canadian March of Dimes and its work with poliomyelitis patients.
Pat Grisbrook
For nine years, Pat Grisbrook has contributed many hours each week to Parkside Elementary School. She works in the library, bakes for events, serves hot lunches to students, and shares her expertise in arts and crafts in the Intergenerational Program. Pat also helps to raise funds for the school by collecting Dominion Store Tapes, Canadian Tire Money and Campbell Soup Labels.
Pat has been a cub leader for 15 years, participated with the baseball and hockey associations in East York and ran a youth club at the Canadian Martyrs. With a good sense of humour and true commitment, Pat helps in every way she can to support our future generation.
David Latimer
For the past five years, David Latimer has been volunteering 20 hours of his time each week at Regent Park/Duke of York P.S. providing support to the children in this very needy community. He helps coach the Regent Park Raptors Basketball Team, does one-on-one reading with students and organizes fundraising for yearly trips to June Camp for the graduating class.
Dave has also been significantly involved in the fund-raising efforts of the Regent Park/Duke of York Children's Foundation which meets the many needs of inner-city children, providing literacy and computer opportunities,art therapy/communication support, summer camp experiences, daily soup and milk during winter months and much more.
Audrey Shirley
Audrey Shirley has been a parent volunteer at Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic School for over 12 years. Most days she arrives at the school before any staff and answers the phone and looks after students who get to school early. Then she makes herself available to all staff, photocopying materials, cataloguing and organizing library books, helping with the school newsletter. Most notably Audrey has been totally involved in school fundraising events. Eight years ago she initiated, and singlehandedly runs, a milk program which provides many of the children with milk or juice at lunchtime and raises money for the school.
Audrey spends from 20 to 30 hours each week at the school and when asked why she gives so much of herself, she always replies "It's for the kids".
Jeanne Cook
Jeanne Cook's most concentrated effort as a volunteer began 8 years ago as an active member of a group of parents who established a work/day program for adults with disabilities. Harmony Place Support Services has grown from 4 clients in a schoolroom to a large facility in North York providing workplace training and a creative active environment for nearly 40 persons. Jeanne volunteers upwards of 20 to 25 hours a week for Harmony Place and is the driving force behind a number of fundraising activities so vital to the survival of the program.
Jean's volunteer efforts began over 25 years ago when she became an effective advocate for the disabled. With a small group of parents she formed the Banbury Children's Program, a social and recreational program for disabled children which has evolved into a vibrant 8 week Summer Program and a year round Saturday day program.
Frances Doane
Frances Doane joined the Association of volunteers, Women's College Hospital in 1992 and for 2 years visited palliative care patients and organized volunteer participation in the Breast Centre serving refreshments and offering general assistance. In 1996 she became President of the Association. In that capacity, Frances dealt with the challenges that arose when that hospital site was scheduled to close and amalgamate with Sunnybrook. When the Department of Volunteer Services was without a permanent manager, they were able to continue to provide support to the patients and staff with the outstanding leadership they received from Frances.
In spite of spending an average of 16 hours each week with the hospital, Frances helps other organizations including reading for C.N.I.B. and for U. of Toronto dyslexic students.
Jean McLaren
Since her retirement in 1992, Jean McLaren has contributed 8 hours every week to improve the quality of life for "her patients" at Toronto Grace Hospital. Jean assists with the care of the chronically ill and helps the recreation staff with special events and with outings where she also takes responsibility for the health needs of patients. She is a member of focus groups and meetings related to transition to long term care and trains, coaches and supports other volunteers.
Other organizations that benefit from Jean's help include the Out of the Cold program to support the homeless, the Homewood Neighbourhood Association to reduce crime as well as the Art Gallery and the Royal Ontario Museum.
Irini Skarbek-Borowska
Irini Skarbek-Borowska has been a Bilingual Patient Service Volunteer with Hope Air since 1992. She helps this organization in its mandate to arrange air transportation for Canadians in financial need who must travel to medical treatment or diagnosis outside their home communities.
Irini is responsible for the effective and caring management of flight requests from patients and from health care professionals. This involves evaluating requests, providing information, liaising with physician's offices and other treatment centres. With the ability to assess what is needed and to take charge, Irini has come forward on many critical occasions to offer her time and her skills to help the organization.
Irini began volunteering in the 1950's in Montreal and has continued to this day, now in Toronto, not only with Hope Air but with a great many other organizations.
Santiago Marin-Dozo
In addition to his school work and time spent babysitting in his community, Santiago Marin-Dozo has contributed 3343 volunteer hours to the St. Lawrence Recreation Centre. He has been a counsellor at the summer and Christmas Day Camps and a soccer coach since 1998. During 1998 and 1999, Santiago was also a member of the St. Lawrence Advisory Council and in recent months has been a front desk reception volunteer. He is a good listener, patient and understanding and has a good rapport with the children who respect him and look up to him as a mentor and special friend.
Erica Stillo
Over the past 2 1/2 years Erica Stillo has been actively involved in many Emergency Services and Homeless Services initiatives for the Red Cross. As team leader for the Street Relief Outreach Team she trains new volunteers for night patrol during severe temperatures and offers assistance to homeless clients.
Erica's commitment to helping those in need extends to the Emergency Response Core Team, the Fire Recovery and the Health Bus which brings medical care to the streets. She has volunteered for several emergency shelters, working overnight shifts in the kitchen and directly with clients who are homeless.
Carmen Bush
In his 70 years of volunteering, Carmen Bush has had an enormous impact on the lives of thousands of youngsters - teaching the values of sport: discipline, sportsmanship and teamwork. He has been coach, official and administrator in many minor sports organizations but his first love has always been baseball.
In 1929 Carmen became secretary-treasurer and registrar of the Toronto Baseball Association, a position he held for 60 years. He ultimately became a guide for new associations as they were formed in the growing suburbs.
Carmen is an honoured member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and, at age 87, he still serves as a statistician for the Toronto Leaside Junior League.
Flora Agnew
Flora Agnew has been a volunteer with the Art Gallery for almost 50 years. Flora processes contemporary works of Art for the Art Rental and Sales retail operation. Her interest in Inuit Art has led to her educating the public and other volunteers about the Inuit way of life and the art itself.
She has also organized many fundraising projects, and is an active volunteer with Travel AGO, planning many art-related trips.
In addition to her major contribution to the Art Gallery, Flora has been volunteering at the Womens College Hospital for the past 12 years, first in the emergency department and more recently at the patient information desk.
Gerald Smith
Gerald Smith is a most successful and persuasive advocate and fundraiser for arts and culture in our community. Most notably, he has been on the board of Lakeshore Arts Council for the past 6 years in many capacities, including Chair.
With the Council, Gerald has initiated and co-ordinated the Chamber Music Series, a reading series entitled Word on the Lake and "Christmas Toonies", a most popular Christmas event. And his commitment and support of two South Etobicoke Art Shows is so strong that he even hangs the paintings.
Gerald's ability to form alliances between business, industry, community associations and artists enriches the cultural life of his community, and has resulted in 5 wall murals being produced by student artists and established muralists.
Marisa Bergagnini
For 20 years Marisa Bergagnini has shared her love of gardening and nature as a volunteer in the community. Marisa was instrumental in the concept research and the fundraising for the Teaching Garden which opened in 1998 at the Civic Garden Centre. The garden provides individual plots for children to plant, grow and harvest vegetables and flowers and is entirely accessible to wheelchairs and features raised planting beds for physically challenged children. In the summer an Inner City Kids Program busses up to 80 children to the garden for a full day program.
Since 1986 Marissa has been a member of the Garden Club of Toronto, volunteering as a judge in floral competitions as well as contributing to the restoration of Casa Loma, Spadina House and the Toronto Brickworks.
Theresa Martin
For 8 years Terry Martin has contributed an average of 9 hours each week to the Lakeshore Area Multiservice Project to help improve quality of life for both youth and low income residents. She is a spokesperson and advocate for Equally Healthy Kids and for the Etobicoke Anti-Poverty Coalition.
Terry is also the initiator of many of the new program ideas like Work With Me, a self-help group of parents of children having difficulty in school. But her participation does not stop with her committee work. She is an active volunteer in many of the projects events and is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and do the work that needs to be done.
Bruce Nelson
For the past 10 years, Bruce Nelson has contributed an average of 15 to 20 hours each week to provide all the maintenance and much of the computer updating for the Don Valley Christian Child Care. Whether its a leaky faucet or a damaged roof, Bruce is there to fix it in spite of the fact that he has a full time day job. Evenings (sometimes until midnight), week-ends and at times on his holidays, he will come up from his home downtown by T.T.C. to make sure that the washrooms, the lights, heat, safety gates, etc. are all clean and in working order for the 48 children who attend the Child Care program, and the youth and seniors who use the building for their programs. Whatever problem arises, he is only a phone call away.
Rob Brown
Rob Brown is a do-er, a roll up your sleeves type of person who makes things happen. He founded and personally financed the launch of the Toronto Harbour Parade of Lights - the Charity Boat Parade held each year on July 1st. This event started in 1997 and with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers has grown into a 5 day festival, benefitting over 100 participating charities with exposure and media attention as well as an opportunity to win over $50,000.00 in prize monies.
Rob has contributed over 100 hours each month to volunteer efforts for over 20 years, including fundraising to support the work of Orchestras Canada, and co-chairing IN KIND CANADA, a clearing house for donated goods from corporations.
Danny McGee
In 1990 retired T.T.C. driver Danny McGee became the volunteer director of the Lansing Food Bank. Since then the client base served has increased from 100 a month to 1000. He is there about 30 hours every week, cleaning, painting shelves, pushing canned goods by wagon through the snow, dickering with merchants, talking with school children and cub leaders and anything else that makes the food bank work.
Danny's concern for the clients finds him bending the rules at times for someone in need. The impact of Danny's commitment is felt by many people, especially clients many of whom express their thanks by returning to donate and volunteer their services once they are on their feet.
