Canadian Parents for French announces 2015 Nova Scotia Volunteers of the Year at Conference and AGM
This year’s Canadian Parents for French, Nova Scotia Volunteer of the Year Awards were presented to Mary White of the Sydney Chapter and Kelly McIntyre-Hayes of the Port Hawkesbury chapter.
Each year, Canadian Parents for French, Nova Scotia organizes summer camps. Both volunteers were being recognized and celebrated for continued support of the French summer camp programs run in their local communities. Both recipients are valuable supporters of Canadian Parents for French and have contributed greatly to the organization.
Mary White has worked tirelessly with the chapter and summer camp program for the past few years as a camp coordinator, treasurer and now, Chapter President. “Its is a team effort,” said Mary, “I want to thank our former president Diane McGrath and the parents of our chapter along with the support the Canadian Parents for French provides us.”
Kelly McIntyre-Hayes is the past President of the Port Hawkesbury Chapter. She has been involved with the organization for only a few short years, but she has worked with all of her heart and much dedication. Kelly stepped in the role of Camp Coordinator at a time when it looked like the camp would fold due to lack of leadership. She then stepped into the role of chapter President to enable a continuity to keep the camp and chapter going. This past spring, she once again put a call out for help to run the French camp and brought in a great team to do it.
The Port Hawkesbury summer camp celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary this year and the Sydney summer camp has operated for over twenty years. Without the volunteer efforts of both these ladies and their chapters, two longstanding summer camps would be lost to their communities.
When we say that the chapters organize the camps, we know that it is a hand-on role. It means delivering groceries and supplies when needed, visiting the site to ensure its safety, cleaning up a camp before and after the campers stay, calling parents/caterers/teachers/camp administrators or whoever because it needs to get done before camp starts. It is a 125% job and these two ladies have volunteered countless hours to provide a French summer camp in their community for local children. By being a volunteer with Canadian Parents for French, they are helping to open the door on similar positive experiences for young Nova Scotians and promote a life-long love of French language and culture.
Felicitations to Mary and Kelly!
Photo: Mary White (CPF Sydney) and Stephanie Carver (CPF Nova Scotia President)