Award-winners say volunteer work deepens their connections to community

Janet Thompson-Price and Cameron Keyes were both young when they became inspired by volunteerism and community service.

Thompson-Price's parents were immigrants and she remembers going to their citizenship ceremony as a kid. She's now an immigration lawyer who offers pro bono legal services, mentorship and has co-founded a citizenship clinic.

"It was just such a big part of my life growing up, and it's such a fulfilling area of work," she said. "How many people can say [they] help people come to Canada or get to stay in Canada?"

Keyes' sister has Down syndrome and when he was younger, his parents wanted him involved with the things his sister was doing.

"Initially it was more like being 'voluntold' than volunteering," he said. "All the events that she would go to typically needed volunteers, and I was just thrown in the deep end and never really stopped. I enjoyed it a lot…it became less about volunteering and more of just this is what you do."

Thompson-Price and Keyes were both honoured at the 35th annual YMCA Red Triangle Award dinner in Saint John on April 23. Thompson-Price was the recipient of the Red Triangle Award, which celebrates dedication, service and leadership.

Keyes, an inclusion support worker who is going to medical school this fall, was named Leader to Watch for his volunteer work with groups that support people with intellectual disabilities.

Thompson-Price began volunteering as a teenager with the Y leader corps, "so right from the get-go it was ingrained in me how important it is to give back to your community."

Newcomers need to make friends in the community

In her professional life, she provides legal support to new immigrants but she also knows the importance of community members volunteering their time to help newcomers settle here.

"Once people arrive, there are all the additional needs and we have great settlement agencies that provide language training and cultural competency training and support," she said.

"But there's also the softer side. [Newcomers] need to make friends, they need to be part of the community. And so that's where I try to help and…support their businesses and promote them and have people into my home."

Thompson-Price sees the human impact of her volunteer work.

She was providing pro bono legal services to an immigrant family and it was a really complicated case, she says. She worked together with another lawyer and the family was allowed to stay in Canada.

"I'll never forget that dad hugging me and crying and saying, 'Because of you, my kids get to stay in this country,'" said Thompson-Price.

She helped out another family and one of the girls was so inspired by the legal process, it got her thinking about what she might do when she grew up.

"I went to their citizenship ceremony and the daughter, who would have been maybe 13, went straight to the citizenship judge, and she said, 'I'm going to be a lawyer. And then I'm going to be a judge.'"

Thompson-Price is inspired by the work she does and so is Keyes.

"I've gotten so much out of it myself," said Keyes. "Sometimes people will tell me, they're so lucky to have you there. It's not really like that. I feel so happy to be at volunteer organizations like L'Arche or Bobby's Hospice. I'm so thankful they're even letting me be there."

Keyes is in his last year at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). As president of Best Buddies at UNB in Fredericton, he leads a team of volunteers that promote inclusion, acceptance and friendship among people with and without intellectual disabilities. He also works at BGC Saint John, where he supports children with autism.

Volunteering creates connections to broader community

He says his volunteer work will serve him well as he embarks on his journey to become a doctor.

"It just comes back to different perspectives, being able to see things through a different lens and being in touch with some of the challenges that could face our region, because I want to stay in New Brunswick forever," he said.

Thompson-Price says her life is better because of her connections to newcomers.

"It's given me and my family so much. My kids are better for it," she said. "We've gone to so many cultural celebrations. We've gone to weddings from other countries and baptisms. It just makes life so much better and so much more enriched having known people from other countries."