“Love thy neighbour as thyself.”
That is what the volunteer organization NeighbourLink is doing.
“It was started 12 years ago in a church hall, simply to help the citizens of Summerland,” said Mirjana Komljenovic, community coordinator for the organization.
“We find that the majority of our calls are from seniors needing transportation and non-medical services in their homes, such as errands, minor repairs, sometimes visitation,” she explained.
“What I really want to stress is that anyone can call NeighbourLink and if we can’t help, we will find someone who can. There isn’t an age restriction or an income restriction and there is not a faith restriction.”
The organization is a community partner with the United Way as well as five local churches, St John’s Lutheran, Summerland Baptist, Summerland United, Summerland Pentecostal and St. Stephen’s Anglican. Funding comes from these as well as from local service clubs, businesses, and individuals.
“It’s a very supportive community,” said office manager Marj Ericson.
When someone decides to become a volunteer with NeighbourLink, there are two levels of volunteering to choose from.
In order to have one-on-one contact with a client, a volunteer is required to have a criminal record check, an interview, and a referral with a sign off from one of the church ministers.
This ensures a level of safety for the clients.
Once this process is finished the volunteer is provided with training and a name tag and is then ready to work under the direction of a volunteer church coordinator.
The second level of volunteering, which does not include such rigorous requirements, involves helping to set up, register, and greet the public at special functions that NeighbourLink holds throughout the year.
One such event is the Soup Social that is held the second Tuesday of every month at the Seniors’ Drop In Centre.
This is a free event that all members of the community are invited to.
NeighbourLink is thankful to have 45 fully trained volunteers and 10 second tier volunteers at this time.
Speaking of the rewards she has received from being involved with NeighbourLink, Komljenovic said, “I think the greatest reward is the people that I have met, all of them, whether clients or supporters or volunteers. The biggest reward from all of that is…..I have experienced the great compassion of humanity.”
If anyone in the community requires the services of NeighbourLink or wants to become involved the number to call is 250-404-HOPE(4673.)
If you know a positive story about someone in our community, contact Carla McLeod at carlamcleod@shaw.ca or contact the Summerland Review newsroom at 250-494-5406.
