UVic Honours Local Senior Volunteers

Two seniors who have spent decades improving the lives of others in the capital region will receive the University of Victoria Centre on Aging’s 2009 Valued Elder Recognition Award (VERA). The awards will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 1 to mark the International Day of the Older Person from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Salvation Army Citadel. The 2008 VERA recipients are:

Terry Cushing (Colwood resident) is a volunteer at the West Shore Adult Day Program, Broadmead Lodge, St. Vincent de Paul, Goldstream Food Bank, Catholic Women’s League and the WRENS (Women’s Royal Navy Service). Contact Terry Cushing at 250-478-5148.

“Terry has boundless energy and is always on the move, thinking of everyone else and expecting nothing in return,” says one her associates from the program. “She has a joke on the tip of her tongue no matter where she is, and a personality that draws people to help out in whatever she is working on at the moment. It is very hard to say no to Terry when you watch her take on tasks that seem insurmountable and yet by the time everything is worked out, she has made it seem unbelievably easy,” says Marlene O’Hanley, President of the Catholic Woman’s League and Treasurer of the Hospitality Group.

Akiko Kamitakahara (Victoria resident) is a volunteer for the Friends of Government House Gardens Society, Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria Hospice Society and the BC Cancer Agency. Contact Akiko Kamitakahara at 250-370-7074.

“We affectionately refer to Akiko as a volunteer who is present ‘everywhere in the organization’, as well as one very active in the larger community of Victoria,” says one of her colleagues from the hospice. “She is easy to recognize, being a diminutive figure with huge energy, wearing her large brimmed hat pulling a cart ahead of her (accumulating more than 5,700 volunteer hours) . . . resulting in almost everyone at Victoria Hospice knowing who Akiko is,” says Brigitte McKenzie, Manager, Volunteer Services, Victoria Hospice Society.

After the awards ceremony the Mohr Chair in Adult and Aging, Dr. Scott Hofer of the Centre on Aging, will be give a free public lecture entitled “Healthy and Successful Aging: What Do We Know from Longitudinal Studies?” To register contact the centre at 250-721-6369. For more information about Hofer’s research visit www.uvic.ca/psyc/hofer.html.
 

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