Brenda Vanderploeg of Saugeen Shores, a volunteer at Grey Bruce Hospice Chapman House, recently received the prestigious June Callwood Circle of Outstanding Volunteers Award at the Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) conference in Markham, Ontario.
The June Callwood Award was established in 1994 by the Hospice Association of Ontario (HPCO), which joined in 2011 with the Ontario Palliative Care Association to form Hospice Palliative Care Ontario, to acknowledge and thank outstanding hospice volunteers throughout Ontario.
The award was named in honour of the late June Callwood, the Award Patron, long-time hospice advocate, community activist, author, and recipient of the Order of Canada. June was a recipient of this award in 1995.
Volunteers are recognized as special people – “a view strongly held by Callwood and expressed by her on many occasions, during interviews on TV and radio, through her warm message of support at the Hospice Association of Ontario’s annual conferences and through her writing”.
Each hospice in Ontario that is an Organizational Member of HPCO, is invited to nominate one volunteer from within their organization who exemplifies the spirit of hospice volunteerism with each nominee inducted into the June Callwood Circle of Outstanding Volunteers.
Each inductee should have demonstrated to hospice selfless service, generosity of spirit, compassion and a commitment to excellence as a volunteer.
A long-time volunteer, Vanderploeg meets all the requirements when it comes to hospice care for her remarkable service and unwavering dedication, tireless efforts and compassionate spirit to exemplify the values of the HPCO June Callwood Circle of Outstanding Volunteers.
In addition, she has been a volunteer at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre for many years, among others.
