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‘A rewarding experience': Volunteers take part in annual Day of Caring
‘A rewarding experience': Volunteers take part in annual Day of Caring

CTV News

time10 hours ago

  • Health
  • CTV News

‘A rewarding experience': Volunteers take part in annual Day of Caring

Volunteers took part in the United Way Elgin Middlesex's 24th annual Day of Caring on June 19, 2025. (Lauren Stallone/CTV News London) Hundreds of volunteers from local businesses joined together for the 24th annual 'Day of Caring' event taking place across London, Elgin County, and Middlesex County. The event, hosted by United Way Elgin Middlesex, aims at providing volunteers deeper insight into important work being done in the community. 'It's an opportunity for workplaces and corporations to come together and go out to united way funded partners and roll up their sleeves and do a little bit of hard work,' said Kelly Ziegner, president and CEO of United Way Elgin Middlesex. Volunteers were sent out to 23 different agencies and participated in activities such as 'garden cleanup' and 'hosting community barbeques.' Organizers said participating in the day is a 'great opportunity' for volunteers to gain a deeper insight into the work being done by United Way's Funded Programs. 'It's great for our workplaces and corporations that are involved because their employees get to work together on something a little different than their desk jobs,' said Ziegner. Jordan Moat with Libro Credit Union, one of the organizations that sponsored and participated in the event, said he enjoys 'sharing such a rewarding experience' with his staff. 'It's a feel-good moment, right?' said Moat. 'They enjoy rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty and feel connected to the community.' One of the projects included in the day was 'Type Diabeat-it' a non-profit organization focused on ensuring Canadians with diabetes have access to quality produce and increase their consumption of vegetables. 'This is Harvest Haven, this is one of our many projects,' said Gonzalo Gomez-Daza, operations manager for Type Diabeat-it. 'It's a one-and-a-half-acre lot, here we grow food that goes back to the community for free.' The non-profit said they were thankful to have so many volunteers come out and show their support. 'Being able to bring all these volunteers here means that lots of work, probably about a couple months worth of work will be done in about a day,' said Gomez-Daza

Melissa and Mark Hortman's work lives on through trained service dogs
Melissa and Mark Hortman's work lives on through trained service dogs

CBS News

time3 days ago

  • General
  • CBS News

Melissa and Mark Hortman's work lives on through trained service dogs

Melissa and Mark Hortman served their community in many ways, including training dogs to be service animals for people in need. WCCO spoke with the volunteer group and a veteran who has benefited from their efforts. Minnie, 11, is a special Labrador. She's the perfect companion for veteran Aric Elsner. "She's just the greatest gift, and I've told many people, and I still say this, this dog saved my life," Elsner said. He served in the Minnesota Air National Guard for more than 25 years and lives every day with physical and mental pain. "I had a lot of health issues, PTSD was one diagnosis, and I was diagnosed with a very painful musculoskeletal condition too," Elsner said. That's when Helping Paws came into his life. He was matched with Minnie. "If I'm anxious at home or I have a bad dream, she's right there," Elsner said. Minnie went through two-and-a-half years of training at Helping Paws, working directly with the Hortman family, who volunteered to train her. It started as a high school service project for their daughter, but when she left for college, Mark Hortman finished training Minnie. "Their love for helping others, their love for doing something above themselves, is just living on every day with the gift that I got from their family," Alyssa Golob, executive director with Helping Paws, said. Gilbert never graduated from training school, but went on to be a beloved pet of the Hortman family. Melissa and Mark Hortman and Gilbert were shot and killed on Saturday. "It's evil on its own, and then you add in an innocent dog, and that's a certain kind of evil," Golob said. Minnie is just one of the many examples of Melissa and Mark Hortman's legacy living on, continuing to serve Minnesotans for the better. Since Saturday, Helping Paws donations have been pouring in, totalling more than $10,000. The money will be used to continue connecting veterans with service dogs.

Isle of Man cathedral dean who led refurbishment project honoured
Isle of Man cathedral dean who led refurbishment project honoured

BBC News

time6 days ago

  • Sport
  • BBC News

Isle of Man cathedral dean who led refurbishment project honoured

The dean who spearheaded the refurbishment of the Isle of Man's Anglican cathedral has been honoured in the King's Birthday Honours ListThe Very Rev Nigel Godfrey, who was appointed dean of Cathedral Isle of Man in Peel in 2011 and has led its £3m upgrade, becomes an Godfrey said the honour was a reflection of the community and "it belongs to a group, it doesn't belong to me".Former journalist John Watterson also becomes an MBE for services and dedication to sport on the island, and Cafe Lingo founder Karen Norton is awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to English learning. Born on the island, Dean Godfrey spent two decades at Christ Church in Brixton in London before return to the island to take up the position in his guidance, the cathedral and its grounds have undergone extensive restored cathedral was opened by the Princess Royal in for his service to church and community life, HE said when he was told about the honour he thought saw it as a reflection of the whole community he served."I hope that people that people will see it as an award for them," he said."At the very best I could be described as a jackdaw I suppose in pulling in other people's ideas and skills and gifts and enabling that community to speak for itself.I think it's that way round." Retired journalist Mr Watterson first started in the newspaper industry at the age of 15 and went on to have a career the spanned five decades and included 38 years acting as sports said he was "a bit stunned" and "very honoured" to receive the recognition, which was "not what I expected at all".During his time in the industry, he said he was "really fortunate" that sport had "really taken off on the Isle of Man", allowing him to follow the careers of Manx athletes Sir Mark Cavendish, David Knight, and Yasmin Ingham."I'm very honoured to be involved in the early stages of their developing careers," he said. A former primary school teacher in both the island and Merseyside specialising in supporting children with additional needs, Mrs Norton founded the community facility Cafe Lingo in Douglas with her husband in 2016. The the volunteer-led gathering place was established to help newcomers to the island from around the world overcome any language barriers by offering free English lessons and 2022, Café Lingo has welcomed Ukrainian families fleeing war, offering both practical assistance and emotional support in partnership with the One World Centre and local Bernard Moore received the Lieutenant Governor's Commendation for 40 years of voluntary service to Moore remained as a leader with the first Marown Scouts throughout his decades of commendation said Mr Moore was "instrumental in maintaining a thriving scout section" and "his contribution extends beyond the scouting community and is marked by exceptional commitment, resilience and care". Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.

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