SFCS Celebrates Their Volunteers

Apr 25, 2013

In recognition of National Volunteer Week (April 21-27), staff at Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) in Sydenham held a special celebration at the Grace Centre to thank their 143 volunteers, who assist staff in bringing a myriad of health, social and financial support services to individuals, families and seniors in the community. Close to 60 SFCS volunteers attended the event, which included an informal meet and greet, a plethora of tasty snacks and beverages and a special ceremony emceed by Kingston stand up comic Mark Nesseth. Nesseth kept the ceremony lively, upbeat, and very entertaining and he introduced the individual members of the SFCS staff, who each spoke of their programs and praised their volunteers.

The SFCS programs include transportation, the food bank, the Good Food Box Program, the Rural Women's Group, Meals On Wheels, Diners Club, home visits, foot care, income tax clinics, and a myriad of other social and recreational programs.

David Townsend, the executive director of SFCS, stated unequivocally, “There is absolutely no way that we at the SFCS could do half of what we do without the support of our volunteers.” He went even further, stating how the programming at SFCS has expanded as a direct result of its volunteers and he cited specific statistics. “Our food bank grew by 29% last year as a direct result of the deeply committed 15 volunteers who are working weekly on that one particular program. Our seniors programs grew by 10% and now we are able to serve 725 clients, up from 661, all because of our volunteers. In fact, we now we have a wait list for our Adult Day Program and currently are looking for new volunteers for that program to accommodate those who are waiting to be able to participate.”

Townsend's advice to those considering volunteering at the organization, “Come on out and have a look at what it means to be a volunteer in any number of our programs. If it looks interesting, if it looks like fun and like something you'd be interested in then we can sit down and talk about it. If not that is okay with us too.”

He also stressed that the organization benefits from volunteers of all ages. “We play host to the Sparks and Brownies here and they are volunteering their time and effort by helping to take care of the gardens and grounds and they have also done a food drive for us. We also have older volunteers like those from Maple Ridge who come and volunteer in the kitchen. People should know that no matter their age, they can definitely serve us in some way.”

I spoke with long time SFCS volunteer David Row who has been running the seniors' Tai Chi program at SFCS for close to 12 years now and whose classes serve anywhere from 6-20 seniors who regularly participate. Row who has been practicing Tai Chi for over 40 years said the practice has helped him ”de-stress” and he pointed out how getting old itself can be stressful. “By helping others to de-stress through Tai Chi, I can justify my own dedication to it.”

This was the second year that the volunteer celebrations have been held at SFCS's new home, the Grace Centre. Staff and board members are excited to be entering a new fundraising drive that will support a new addition to the centre, which since it was acquired in 2011 has become the central hub for seniors' programming. Board members and staff hope to see the centre become the permanent home to all of the services that the organizations offers. Anyone interested in donating to the organization and/or becoming a volunteer can visit www.sfcsc.ca or call 1-800-763-9610 or 613-376-6477.