Retiring board member honoured

The Foundation Board of Directors gathered together on September 21 for a tribute tea to retiring member Shirley Rowland.

Shirley joined the Rouge Valley Health System Foundation board in 2005. She has been an active member of the Auxiliary to Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering for an amazing 60 years, during which time she served as president, treasurer, secretary and historian, a position she still holds.

Shirley has volunteered with other community organizations as well, often serving on their executive board. All her tireless work earned her an Ajax Civic Award in 2002, presented by the Ajax Optimist Club.

Thank you Shirley, for your example of volunteer leadership and your dedicated service to the Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering community.

(L-R) Bill Rowland, Shirley Rowland, and RVHSF chair Jim Ward.

West Rouge Community Day Festival

West Rouge knows how to throw a party. This year the 17th annual West Rouge Family Day coincided with the 50th anniversary of the West Rouge Sports and Recreation Association.

To celebrate, they invited the community to come out on Saturday September 18 to the West Rouge Community Centre for a day of live music, dance performances, a reptile show and games and activities for children. After all that excitement, big appetites gave way to an even bigger feast with snacks and a BBQ.

Taking the opportunity to promote Rouge Valley Centenary, the Foundation, and Buy a Bed Campaign were Buy a Bed Committee members Bonnie Hughson and Millie Tavener, Foundation Board members Gord and Ann Moore, Community Fundraising Committee member Shiv Bansal and volunteers Derek Dodd, Susan Hanna and Nitesh Lal.

We were excited to share this milestone with our local community.

(L-R) Ros Sagar-Lal, RVHSF Major Gifts and Planned Giving Officer, Bonnie Hughson, RVC Volunteer Services Coordinator, Carole Chabot, RVHSF Vice President, Development

Patient pays it forward

In 2000 Brian Kelly suffered a major heart attack while at a curling game in Scarborough. He was rushed to Rouge Valley Centenary for treatement, launching his relationship with the Cardiac Rehab program.

After graduating from the program as a patient, Brian was asked to volunteer and has been doing so ever since, for almost ten years.

"I was scared and thought I was the only one with heart problems," says Brian. "But I soon learned that I was surrounded by people with the same experience. There's a comfort that comes from knowing you're not alone in your illness."

Joining the team of volunteers who had helped him through his illness proved to be a natural fit. Today, he hopes to pass on some of the strength he has received to others.

Volunteers Needed: Free Family Fun Day at the Races

Ajax Downs and Quarter Racing Owners of Ontario, Inc. have teamed up to host a Free Family Fun Day at the Races on Sunday, August 15th -- funded entirely with corporate donations by themselves and event sponsors -- to support the "Image is Everything" Campaign to bring a permanent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner to Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering hospital campus.

They are requesting your support in this community project. If you would be interested in volunteering your services for this special event, please contact Emily Moorhouse at 905-683-2320 x1212.