Sudbury volunteer receives June Callwood award

A Sudbury woman has been recognized for her outstanding achievement in volunteering.

Valerie Hawkins was recently recognized by the province with a June Callwood award for her time helping to prepare food for those in need, supporting the arts community for her green projects, among others.

The longstanding volunteer has been washing dishes, serving meals and mopping floors at the Elgin Street Mission for 15 years.

“I have also volunteered at a number of other places in the community like the CNIB, through churches and the Salvation Army kettle drives, school year naturalization projects. Quite a few different things over the years,” said Hawkins.

During the pandemic the Mission has seen a record need for meals, serving 320 a day between breakfast and dinner. Officials said they couldn’t do it without the help of 100 volunteers each week like Hawkins.

“We survive on volunteers and the good volunteers. You know Sudbury is very generous community financially but we are also a very generous community when it comes to our time,” said Amanda Robichaud, director and chaplain of the Elgin Street Mission.

By day Hawkins works as an elementary school teacher and devotes her time in the evening to making her community better.

“It’s nice to know you are helping people in the community, but it also gives you an energy working with the other volunteers because many of the people I volunteer with here I also meet on other volunteer situations in the community," she said.

"And we sort of generate energy for each other working together."

Hawkins said she encourages others to get involved and help in the community because there are a lot of intrinsic rewards.