National Volunteer Week – April 14-20

Jeff Green | Apr 10, 2024

Community Service agencies, whether they be churches or service clubs such as the Oddfellows and Lions’ Clubs, or community service agencies such as the 50 year old Rural Frontenac Community Services (RFCS) or its younger cousins at Southern Frontenac Community Services

(SFCS) and Land O'Lakes Community Services (LOLCS), were created by volunteers.

And they continue to be volunteer based.

The three community services agencies all have dedicated paid staff handling day-to-day operations, but those staff are hired and overseen, by a volunteer board.

For Volunteer Appreciation week, we are looking at some of the volunteer roles at Rural Frontenac Community, with thanks to one of the longest serving professional staffers at the agency, Joyce Lewis.

Meals on Wheels

As part of the funding for what the Ministry of Health calls “Community Support Services” for seniors,

Rural Frontenac Community Services, SFCS, and LOLCS, all offer Meals-on-Wheels programs, a hot lunch prepared and provided to seniors at a more than reasonable price. While these programs have morphed over the years to providing frozen meals that can be enjoyed all week, hot meals continue to be popular, so much so that during COVID the programs expanded.

At Rural Frontenac Community Services, Meals-on-Wheels are now available 3 days a week, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. While it maintains a professional kitchen staff, meals-on-wheels volunteers have been delivering hot meals to seniors ever since the program started some 25 years ago.

And from the start, Alvin Lake has been a meals-on-wheels driver for Rural Frontenac Community Services.

“When I first started I was still working,” said Alvin, when contacted this week. “But since I was doing shift work I said I would be able to do deliveries every second week.”

He started delivering meals, which were prepared at the Rising Bun Bakery at Hwy.7 and Road 38 at the time (where Subway is located now) twice a week.

“There are now four routes, an east/west, a southern one, a northern one, and a village route. I've done each of them at some time or another,” he recalled, “it has always been something I have enjoyed, and it is good to play a part in helping Meals-on-Wheels fulfill its role.”

Alvin delivers in the Sharbot Lake area now, making between 16 and 35 stops each day. He arrives at the Child Centre for pickup, with the other drivers, at about 11:00, and is all done a couple of hours later.

“Even when I retired I still kept doing the driving every second week. It seems to fit my lifestyle best, but I do help when necessary on the other weeks when someone is sick and I am available. It is nice to see the drivers each time, and I have gotten to know the clients pretty well also. It is nice to see them, share a joke or something, and move on pretty quickly because there are a lot of stops and the food needs to be delivered while it is still warm. Some people eat the soup or salad for lunch and the main course for dinner.”

Meals-on-Wheels drivers also play another important role. As someone who meets regularly with the senior clientelle, they can take note when clients’ health or mental state appears to change, helping the agency step in with other support services.

“I let the Community Support Services Supervisor, Laura Huffman, know when I think someone is having a bit of trouble, and she can follow up with a wellness check.

Alvin is not planning to quit his job anytime soon, but said that day will come at some point.

“For now I feel that I enjoy it, and enjoy helping out as well. It works for me.”

Income tax preparation

I talked to a volunteer who has been filling in tax forms for low income Central and North Frontenac residents for the last 12 years. He did not want his name used but was happy to talk about how the program works and his role in it.

“I understand how the tax forms work. I have a feel for it, and it is easy for me to share that with people who are not as comfortable with it,” he said.

For the past 12 years or so, he has been completing about 100 tax returns, a few at a time, between mid March and the end of April.

“Most of them are pretty simple. People collecting ODSP as their main source of income, or pensioners. They take about 15 minutes. But some are more complicated and can take up to an hour, or more,” he said.

After filling in the forms, on a template that is provided by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) free of charge as part of the program that is co-sponsored by the CRA and Rural Frontenac Community Services, he contacts the clients with the results.

“Mostly they are getting money back, because of the deductions and credits they can claim, but sometimes they have to pay something,” he said.

And sometimes he has to get more information before completing the task. Then, he files the forms electronically.

“People can get their rebates back within a few days sometimes when we file electronically. It can take weeks or months with a paper form,” he said.

For him, the time of year and the pace of his volunteer position fit his lifestyle and schedule.

“It is something I am very comfortable with, and it helps people out who need some help. So, I'm happy about that.”

In a few cases, he has filled in several years’ worth of returns for people who had fallen behind.

“They were losing a lot of money, money they could have used, so it was good to get them caught up, and the amount they received back was a pleasant surprise as well,” he said.

Youth Volunteer

Kylie Babcock is a student at Granite Ridge Education. While in her first year of High School, she began attending the RFCS youth program, and quickly started helping out. That led to her seeking to make the youth program a co-op placement as an assistant, which she has done this year.

The RFCS youth program runs two afternoons a week, in Parham and Sharbot Lake.

“I enjoy helping out, getting everything set up, helping doing the planning for what we can do each week,” she said.

Kylie may continue to do co-op at the youth program next year, but even if she doesn’t, she will continue to volunteer, at the youth program and elsewhere.

“I think I will always want to volunteer,” she said, “it is a way to be more involved with what is going on.”

Board Member

Susan Irwin originally came to Sharbot Lake to work for what was then called North Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) in the 1980’s. A lawyer by trade, she was hired by Rural Legal Services, which was a program of NFCS at the time, and in the early 1990’s it spun off to become its own agency. Much later, whn Rural Legal Services amalgamated with the Legal Clinic in Perth, they rented office space at the RFCS Adult Services building in Sharbot Lake,

“It was while working in that building that I gained an appreciation for all of the great work the RFCS does, seeing community members make use of the services,” she said.

About 10 years ago, she joined the RFCS Board, and since she is now retired from the Legal Clinic, she has upped the ante on her board commitment by serving as chair. She is also the secretary of the board of the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team, and has been a member of Central Frontenac Council since the fall of 2022, so retirement has not been that restful for her.

“I estimate that my RFCS board responsibilities take up about one working day a month for me” she said. The Board meets monthly, and as chair she sets the agenda, in consultation with the executive director, and the Board executive meets about once every two months.

Part of her role on the board is to understand the legal and administrative role that not-for-profit boards play, and in that regard her legal training has been useful, since there have been changes to the Not For Profit Corporation Act.

“My motivation for being a board member is primarily because I appreciate all the RFCS does in the community and if I can help in any way, I’m happy to do it,” she said.