Saturday, September 18, 2010

Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and Awards

I'm a volunteer and last night D and I attended the Canadian Cancer Society volunteer appreciation dinner. The event honored nearly 200 volunteers from Edmonton and area. 

The event was held at the Old Timers Log Cabin which created a beautiful and natural atmosphere that made for a really nice evening. The program started off with a delicious buffet dinner which included my favorite Ukrainian dishes, perogies and cabbage rolls. They're oh so good. After a short welcome from Heather Halpenny, a board member and breast cancer survivor, we listened to Dr. Thomas Simmen, a researcher at the University of Alberta. He talked about how complex the battle against cancer really is. Having said that, we are making great progress with survival rates increasing each year.

The next part of the program was about honoring the volunteers. We all were recognized for the amount of time volunteered … everything from a few weeks to many years. People were given a certificate of appreciation or a beautiful framed picture. It was so very heartwarming to be in a room filled with so many kind and giving people.

At the end of the evening, we were shown a 12 minute video titled Christine’s Fight. It was so frank and moving that I’ve included it here.



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