Eleanor is not only the Auxiliary’s longest serving member, but she is a fine example of a fully engaged volunteer. Since joining the Mission Hospital Auxiliary in 1961, she’s been active in most of its areas, including President, Thrift Shop Convenor, and as Auditor for 40 years.
Provincially, she’s served as BCAHA Secretary, Treasurer, and Area Representative, and Nationally as Secretary; and as Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Health Care Auxiliaries. Eleanor has also been on the BC & Yukon Arthritis Society Board and, for 25 years, with the Mission Community Foundation. For the past 12 years, she’s been active with the Citizen’s Advisory Committee at Mission Prison and with the Mennonite Foundation of Canada.
Eleanor also helps with the Mission Hospice Society, the Women’s Ministry Committee, and is an usher at her church and her local arts theatre. Eleanor has been designated Mission Citizen of the Year, Freeman of the District, Historical Society Pioneer and Pathfinder, and a Mission Health Care Auxiliary Life Member.
But beyond the titles and awards are other numbers that tell a fuller story:
- 350 is the times that Eleanor has been a blood donor
- 800 is the number of blankets that Eleanor and her Mennonite sewing group have produced per year for overseas relief
- 100 is the pairs of slippers that she’s knitted annually for the Christmas Bureau since 1995
Efforts such as these, though less visible, are a special measure of what so many community volunteers offer.