Community volunteer recognized with Sovereign Award

Governor General honours Falls’ Barbara Greenwood

They said ’tis better to give than receive, and Barbara Greenwood concurs.

The Niagara Falls resident, a former nurse who has spent much of her life volunteering for numerous community causes, stepped briefly into the limelight Sunday as recipient of a prestigious Governor General’s Sovereign Award for Volunteers.

The award, presented at the Royal Canadian Legion hall on Spring Street, recognizes exceptional volunteer efforts of Canadians who have made significant, sustained and unpaid contributions to their community or abroad.

In the case of Greenwood, it’s both.

She played a pivotal role in the establishment of the new Boys and Girls Club of Niagara facility in Niagara Falls several years ago, and through the Niagara Falls Rotary Club of which she is past-president — and incoming president — she has supported causes local and international.

The service club supports numerous programs in the city through fundraising efforts and events such as Lobsterfest which Greenwood has chaired, the Rotary auction and an annual golf tournament. The local club also donates funds for water purification projects in developing countries and helped fund a rabies inoculation program in Uganda.

“Dogs run wild there,” said Greenwood, noting that children who get bitten in the face by rabid dogs are basically given a death sentence.

At home, Greenwood’s decades of volunteerism include working with the Canadian Kidney Foundation, Canadian Heart Association and donating blood more than 135 times to Canadian Blood Services.

She is past-president of the Boys and Girls Club of Niagara foundation, and was co-chair of the capital campaign to fund development of the group’s centre on McLeod Road.

Her many honours have included volunteer awards, a Misty Award for hospitality in tourism, and a Champions for Children Award in 2011.

Greenwood said her volunteerism is an extension of the community service her parents instilled in her through their volunteerism with causes such as the Girl Guides.

“I followed in their footsteps, I guess,” she said.

Receiving the Sovereign Award, presented to her by Niagara Falls riding MP Rob Nicholson on behalf of the Governor General, left her feeling “humbled and honoured.”

“I do the things I do because I want to; I don’t look for any glory or recognition.”

Greenwood also helped organize a bone marrow registry locally when the Canadian Red Cross was still in charge of blood donations. She walked the walk herself, getting matched with a leukemia patient who needed a bone-marrow transplant as part of his treatment.

Greenwood was admitted to hospital for the procedure, but it ended up being cancelled because the man no longer needed it.

“I was so disappointed,” she said. “I was so excited about donating my bone marrow.”

Greenwood was nominated for the award by Capt. Daniel Rodrique (retired) of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association with Boys and Girls Club executive director JoAnne Turner.

Rodrique, a Niagara Falls resident who is an independent producer of Canadian military documentaries, said it was an honour to support the nomination of someone who has given so much back to the community.

“It is safe to say that she gave more of herself than anyone I know,” he said in a letter of support for the nomination.

Greenwood, a former Niagara Falls regional councillor who is running for a seat again in the municipal election, said volunteering is rewarding in myriad ways.

‘‘ “I do the things I do because I want to; I don’t look for any glory or recognition.” BARBARA GREENWOOD