Jeff Bell, Times Colonist, 14 April 2008

The Capital City Volunteers are marking their 20th year of serving Victoria, and Ruth Barner has been there every step of the way.

Her special dedication to seniors and the disabled has kept her volunteering since 1988, when the organization began as a service to the residents of North Park Manor. Now in her 90s, Barner still takes part in helping clients, said Karina Wolf, the Capital City Volunteers' executive director and lone paid staffer.

"She's been with the organization from the beginning," said Wolf. "She used to drive three or four different people who we matched up with her -- take them grocery shopping, visit with them, help with their needs. Now she does maybe one visit, but she does a lot of phone calling of people just to brighten up their day and see how they're feeling."


Karina Wolf, executive director of the Capital City Volunteers
Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist Also part of the 200-person complement of volunteers is Conrad Lalonde, a retiree who began helping out three years ago when he relocated to Victoria.

"Previously I was doing the same kind of thing in Burlington, Ont., and in California, too."

Lalonde's primary duty is driving people to medical appointments, which he does a few times each week.

"It's an easy thing to do, and it helps them out," he said. "The clients are extremely grateful. A couple of the regulars I drive are blind so it's really needed."

Besides, he said, it just feels good to do something for others. "And I figure one day I might be on the other end of the service."

The needs that volunteers meet have been constant since the early days of the organization, Wolf said.

"It was recognized that there was a real need to help seniors with daily living needs and socialization, and help with drives and walking and visiting and preparing forms, all sorts of different things."

A grant from New Horizons helped get the organization going, and in the early 1990s it went from serving North Park Manor to the entire downtown and its environs. Another grant from the Capital Health Region aided the expansion process, and the operation moved to the former Silver Threads building on Fisgard.

"We worked with Silver Threads and we opened up the services to all seniors and people with disabilities in the community," said Wolf, who has been with Capital City Volunteers since 1995. "We recruited hundreds of volunteers, trained them and put them out in the community. We established a big driving program to transport people to medical appointments, shopping errands and wherever they needed to go."

Regular visits to clients serve a major purpose, Wolf said.

"Each situation is very different. People need socialization, and often we find seniors and people with disabilities. We recruit volunteers and match them up with a client who they see on an ongoing basis."

Wolf said that about 70 per cent of the agency's 360 clients are seniors, while the rest are people with a range of conditions or disabilities.

"Our mandate is to help people stay independent in their own homes," she said. "We operate on a really small budget, but at the same time we do huge things in the community."

The public is invited to this year's annual general meeting on Apr. 26 to get an idea of what the agency's volunteers bring to their clients. The meeting will be at Ambrosia Catering, 638 Fisgard St., at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided at a cost of $15.

Call Wolf at 380-0660 by Friday if you would like to attend.

Visit www.capitalcityvolunteers.org by April 20 to bid on items in a fundraising charity auction.

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008