Meet these 5 unsung heroes who embody the heart of our community
We’re pleased to introduce these Old Ottawa East residents whose years of volunteer service, generousity and compassion have made Old Ottawa East and the City of Ottawa a better place to live.
MAINSTREETER STAFF
Barbara O’Connor has been on the Board and Fundraising Committee for Cornerstone Housing for Women for 6 years, helping to set up their new “Princeton” supportive housing building in Westboro, and helping to settle women moving in. In addition, with St. Patrick’s Home of Ottawa, she has volunteered for the past 17 years to the present, visiting with residents, assisting with meals and recreational activities, portering to Mass and other events, and providing palliative and end of life care.
In Barbara’s own words: “I have experience in governance and wanted to offer any expertise I have to help organizations that I believe in to grow and develop in sustainable ways. With organizations such as Cornerstone and St. Patrick’s Home, I believe that compassion and caring for others, especially individuals who are vulnerable or suffering, is very important. Our own caring, attention, and involvement not only contributes to making the world a better place but also helps me to realize more and more the beauty and uniqueness of each person.
“Cornerstone has helped hundreds of women find themselves and discover and live better, happier lives. St. Patrick’s Home helps those on the final part of their journey of life to still feel meaning and helps their loved ones also to feel supported.
“Volunteering has provided an added richness to my life and helped me to realize a wider world. Here is a quote from Mary Oliver, that kind of reflects what I mean:
“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”
Susan Smith has experienced cancer and undergone treatment. “I know how it feels to learn you have cancer,” she says. As a volunteer at the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre since 2007, she appreciates the opportunity to offer a little help during a difficult time. “I am comfortable in the hospital setting, greeting people and offering help when needed. The volunteers are often the first contact and can play an important role in that welcome – we are part of the team and are appreciated by staff as well as by patients and families,” Susan says.
She is also a volunteer member of the PFAC – Patient and Family Advisory Committee at the Cancer Centre, whose members have had cancer or supported a family member with cancer. PFAC brings the patient and family voice to the staff in a variety of ways – through committees, by helping to develop and/or provide feedback on educational material and through surveys and research opportunities. In addition, she has done important volunteer work with the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) as a Peer Support volunteer. She explains this role: “Folks with a cancer diagnosis contact the CCS to talk with volunteers who have had a similar diagnosis and/or treatment. I spoke with people from all across Canada – sometimes for a few calls, and others for several months.”
“My parents and grandparents volunteered in their communities and I grew up with that example. I gain much more than I give. I suggest folks find an organization – and volunteer – it is a wonderful experience when you find that place where you feel you belong and can contribute.”
Mary Lynn Wood turned a retirement interest in Celtic music into a high-profile volunteer role with the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Association and Fiddle Competition as well as with the Ottawa Fiddle Club, both as a Board member and as a participating club member.
Before she officially retired, Mary Lynn gave thought to what to do to replace the rather busy career she had as a registered nurse. With a Celtic background and familiarity with Celtic and old time music, she decided to learn how to play a musical instrument. She chose the violin.
“My decision opened up so many opportunities, both by learning how to play, and by meeting some wonderful folks who became mentors, comrades and devotees to music and the arts in general,” she recalls. As a member of the “Fiddle Group”, she has volunteered her time playing engagements at Seniors residences, Long Term Care Facilities, and at Canadian Legion Halls.
In 2015, Mary Lynn’s devotion to fiddling led her to join a group of prominent Canadian fiddlers who advocated successfully before Canada’s Senate for the creation of National Fiddling Day in Canada, which she and others celebrate each year on the third Saturday in May.
“There is nothing more compelling than looking out on our seniors as they listen to the music they love and that was part of their life…the toes tapping, the eyes closed in memory, and perhaps a tear or two.
“I know how vital music and the arts are to our seniors (me included) as well as to young and old alike. My motto would likely be “Music is the universal language of mankind” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Melinda Newman has served as a mainstay of volunteer support in the field of palliative care for Hospice Care Ottawa and the Hospice at May Court in Old Ottawa South. For more than 25 years, the Old Ottawa East resident assisted clients and families in the Hospice residence and continues to provide both administrative statistical and records support for Hospice Care Ottawa as well as administrative bereavement support for the Hospice at May Court. Her caring and compassion have been recognized by staffers and fellow volunteers, and in 2020 by Hospice Palliative Care Ontario which awarded her the prestigious June Callwood Circle of Outstanding Volunteers Award to acknowledge and thank outstanding hospice volunteers throughout Ontario.
Melinda – or Lindy as she is known to family and friends – came to hospice care volunteering through personal experience. Her father received palliative care in Halifax in the early 1990s when he had cancer. “I remember how important that care was to allow our family to be a family, and to be by his side supporting him through his final journey,” she recalls. Back home in Ottawa, when she learned that the Hospice at May Court was to open, she knew that was where she wanted to spend her volunteer time helping families and their loved ones move through their final days in peace, dignity and compassion.
“I have been inspired by the courage, strength and grace of residents and their families. It has been a privilege to do a small part within an amazing team of dedicated caregivers. I receive more than I give.”
Lorna Kingston has embraced volunteerism for decades and was pleased to participate in this article primarily because of its potential to incent others in the community to volunteer their time and effort to a good cause.
Among the many organizations Lorna has helped in the past are several associated with local churches, notably the Canadian Martyrs Church in Old Ottawa East and the collective of churches that form the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee (CCSAC), which started the Centretown Community Food Centre back in 1978. For the past seven years, she has served as the representative of Canadian Martyrs on the board of the CCSAC, in addition more recently to volunteering at the Food Centre.
Lorna also spent some 30 years as a volunteer member of the Peace & Development Committee at Holy Cross Parish in Ottawa. She has also been an active long term volunteer at a diverse range of Ottawa organizations, including the Great Canadian Theatre Company for more than 10 years; as Board Secretary of Ottawa Foyers Partage for 10 years and as a volunteer at its associated work program (ComputerWise); 16 years working with the African AIDS Angels project to support AIDS orphans in Africa.
“Your question about volunteering made me think and reflect on how I got involved with each volunteer activity through the years. I realized that someone had personally asked me,” Lorna remembers. “Maybe that is how many people start.”
“What has kept me involved is both the need and the other volunteers. They are the most interesting and genuinely nice people you will ever get to know. I’m sure you see that with The Mainstreeter volunteers.