Community Living Honours Volunteers

GFESS cuisine students whip up fine dining for annual volunteer recognition event

Community Living Fort Erie honoured it’s longtime volunteers, like Pauline Wilson, left, with a special dinner at the Pomegranate Restaurant. Awards and congratulations were handed out by Vickie Moreland, right, executive director of Community Living in Fort Erie and Port Colborne. - James Culic/Metroland

Community Living Fort Erie is an organization that works tirelessly to break down barriers and make sure every citizen can live a fulfilling life and be included into the fabric of their community, despite any developmental problems which might stand in their way.

It’s a tough job, and it only works because Community Living has such a dedicated group of volunteers to help them achieve their goals. Volunteers give so much to Community Living, so last week it was time for them to get a little something in return, at the group’s annual volunteer appreciation dinner, where longtime volunteers were recognized for their outstanding work.

“Pauline Wilson has been giving back to Community Living before we even had a formal volunteer program organized,” said Vickie Moreland, executive director of Community Living Fort Erie and Port Colborne. Wilson is one of the group’s longest serving volunteers, and at the dinner she was recognized for reaching the 10-year marker, and that’s after serving 40 years as an employee.

The dinner was provided by the cuisine students at Greater Fort Erie Secondary School, who operate their own restaurant out of the school called the Pomegranate. They also used the dinner as an opportunity to do a bit of giving of their own, and a hefty bounty of donations were collected for local food banks.

by James Culic

James Culic is an Ottawa-expat, reporting the news around Niagara’s southern tier. He also writes a weekly opinion column which people seem to love to hate-read. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.