One Comox Valley resident was presented with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, Thursday in Victoria.
The award, presented by Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Janet Austin, on behalf of Governor General Julie Payette, honours the dedication and commitment of volunteers across the country.
Shirley Hickman has been volunteering since she was a Girl Guide. Since then, her volunteering involvement grew, eventually resulting in the foundation of the organization for which she is being recognized, Threads of Life.
“I’m feeling very emotional because I wouldn’t get this recognition and wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the death of our son,” she said.
Twenty-two years ago, the Hickmans lost their son Tim to an explosion at his workplace. He was 21 years old.
“We found ourselves in a world of legal systems, and who’s going to tell you what happened, what caused the explosion –who’s going to give you any of this information? The employer basically doesn’t want to communicate with you, the Ministry of Labour has their own work to do, the WCB doesn’t know what to do with you.”
Hickman found that she didn’t have anywhere to turn, and as she spoke to other families who had gone through similar tragedies and received little help, she realized something needed to be done.
Once she had gathered a number of families together, she approached her Health and Safety representative who told Hickman she could start an organization to help support these people.
“I said, ‘I really don’t have the skills, I work with volunteers,’ and she said, ‘you have everything you need and what you don’t have the community will provide.’ And sure enough, it did,” said Hickman. “What I realized was that all those [volunteer] opportunities I’d had in my life, it equipped me to start this national organization.”
Hickman credits her years of prior volunteering experience for giving her the skills she needed to start Threads of Life. As a Girl Guide, and a Girl Guide leader for over 40 years, she has learned how to listen and care for others, budgeting and strategic planning.
Threads of Life was incorporated in 2003 and Hickman volunteered much of her own time to make that happen. The organization has over 350 volunteers helping around 2,800 Canadian family members.
“If people become aware of anyone living with a life-altering injury from work, a life-altering disease or outcome of a fatal injury, Threads of Life is a safe place for them to find the comfort of others. Peer support, talking, listening, talking to other families, being guided by a volunteer – this is a safe place for people.”
Even though she is currently the executive director of Threads of Life, she still finds the time to volunteer with Girl Guides, as well as with the North Island Hospital Comox Valley’s emergency department and other events in the community.
“You do it because you enjoy it and it gives you satisfaction. I certainly didn’t do it to be acknowledged with an award,” she said. “I guess I’m very humbled and honoured to think that people in the community recognized that the work I did to establish a not-for-profit charity in Canada… is worthy of this award.”
A total of 40 B.C. residents were honoured with the Sovereign’s Medal at a ceremony at Government House in Victoria on Thursday.
