Shubenacadie woman receives national VON award
Betty Macphee got just what she wanted for her birthday: an- other way to help others.
e Shubenacadie woman decided to celebrate her 65th birthday with a supper, and those who planned to attend were asked to give $25 to the VON. Some, who were unable to attend, donated anyway, and almost $3,500 was raised.
at’s the kind of sprit that resulted in Macphee receiving the VON Canada Award of Distinc- tion this year.
“I was very humbled and pleased when I got the call saying I was this year’s recipient,” she said. “VON is a great organization that does a lot of good things.”
Macphee got involved with VON 13 years ago. She’d retired from teaching and someone she knew asked if she’d consider volunteering with the organization.
Macphee looked into it because her parents were at the stage they needed some help. When she saw everything VON was doing, she decided she wanted to be a part of it.
“I realized there was so much, and I thought people needed to know VON is more than nursing and home care,” she said.
“We o er frozen meals, volunteer transportation, the adult day program, and Vial of Life.”
She was involved in getting more programs into East Hants. She’s also helped with projects, been on committees – at both local and national levels – and recruited and developed new board members. She’s spoken at 100 Women Who Care events, in both Truro and East Hants, lead- ing to gifts totaling $6,100 for VON Colchester-east Hants.
“It’s a great organization, and we’re always looking for volunteers with many di erent skills,” she said.
“You don’t have to be a director, but we’re always looking for more directors, too. Colchester-East Hants is a fairly large area, and we want to have people from different areas, because they know the needs in their communities.”
Anyone interested in learning more about being involved with VON is invited to call the Truro o ce at 902-893-3803.