WOCRC powered by WC volunteers

DUNROBIN – Each year, the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC) covers a lot of ground in more ways than one.

In addition to partnering with more than 170 local charitable agencies they also provide a vast array of health and social service programs for a catchment area of over 1,000 square kilometres in far west Ottawa.

“Our reach is far, we do great work,” volunteer coordinator Carol Diguer told West Carleton Online Jan. 30 about the long-standing tradition of volunteerism in the organization.

“In 1986, a group of volunteers got together because they saw a need for health and social services in the communities of Goulbourn, Kanata and West Carleton,” she said. “The inaugural meeting was hosted by the Kanata Interchurch Council and attended by 100 people. They identified the issues lacking in the community, set up an office on Abbey Hill Road, and went from there.”

Since that time the non-profit organization has grown exponentially, to an annual budget of roughly $8.5 million. They provide help to all age groups through a diverse range of community services.  However, their mission to promote the health, safety and wellness of communities in far west Ottawa remains the same. In 2002, the organization became known as the WOCRC and moved to their own building at 2 McNeil Crt. in Kanata.

“West Carleton has been included right from the beginning and over time programs were added,” Diguer said. “We got funding for childcare resources in 1989 and almost 10 years later Diner’s Club started in 1998. We also piloted the first anti-bully program at a Fitzroy Harbour school that same year.”

The organization is always looking at ways to support their communities she says. Recently WOCRC identified the most urgent needs in West Carleton as being food security, mental health and transportation.  

“We can always use more funding and more volunteers,” Diguer said. “Before COVID we had 200 to 240 volunteers now we are down to roughly 130. We are building back up. We are not yet doing all the programs we need to do.”

Although all WOCRC programs are offered to West Carleton residents, Diguer says the transportation program; delivery of frozen meals and groceries; Diner’s Club; and the EarlyON drop-in programs (a program for kids one to six and their caregivers in Carp, Constance Bay and Fitzroy Harbour) have the most uptake at the moment. She credits the success of the programs to the dedication of the volunteers, two of whom agreed to speak with West Carleton Online about why they do it.

When a motorcycle accident ended his working career Constance Bay resident Dennis Ladouceur told us on Feb. 4 he turned to volunteering as a way to find something to do.

“Once I recovered, I started delivering daffodils to stores and also drove for the Canadian Cancer Society,” he said. “Then I saw a sign for WOCRC looking for volunteers. I started as a back-up for meals on wheels and then started driving for medical appointments.”

When COVID arrived, Ladouceur switched to delivering groceries and has been doing that ever since.

“It gets me out,” he said of his 15-year stint volunteering with WOCRC. “And doing the medical drives was really interesting. I got to meet interesting people. It’s the same doing groceries and it’s an easy thing to do for a few hours a week. People are very happy and appreciative to see you. You are bringing food to the door, who doesn’t like that?”

Ladouceur picks up the groceries to be delivered from Browns’ Your Independent Grocer Stittsville.

“The WOCRC office takes their order and phones it into Browns,” he said. “When I arrive, they bring it to my car all tied up. I deliver to four sometimes five places, which is all I can fit in my car. It takes about three hours. I get more out of this than anyone else. I know it sounds cliché, but I think anybody who does this would say the same thing.”

Carp resident Beatrice Romeskie agreed wholeheartedly with this sentiment when we chatted at her home Feb. 7.

“I get as much or more than I give, it’s very rewarding,” she says of her seven years as a WOCRC volunteer.

The Carp resident says she has been a longtime volunteer because she feels it’s important for her to contribute to the community she lives in.

“What got me started was when the children were young,” she said. “I volunteered at the school, the Huntley Community Association and at various local sports. I admire what volunteers can do when they get together. I don’t think Canada would function without volunteers. Our population is so scattered, we are in it together.”

In addition to delivering groceries and driving for medical appointments for WOCRC, the retired French translator also helps with Diner’s Club, a monthly event for adults 55 and older as well as adults with disabilities. The luncheon usually attracts roughly 50 people for an afternoon of socialization and entertainment.

“I think friendship brings them in,” she said. “Some have known each other forever. Some used to live in Carp but have moved to a retirement place. For those who can’t drive WOCRC volunteers will drive them. The location rotates between Carp, Fitzroy Harbour and Kinburn.”

Romeskie is also thinking ahead to the time when she will no longer be able to do the volunteer driving. She says she hopes to continue volunteering by supporting clients from home through WOCRC’s telephone assurance and friendly visiting programs.

Both Ladouceur and Romeskie cannot say enough about WOCRC staff, who are endlessly appreciative for whatever the volunteers can offer.

“What I like about WOCRC is you do it when you can,” Ladouceur said. “I can miss a Thursday; I just have to call.”

They both say the driving schedule is flexible and drivers are free to back out of a trip if they feel the road conditions are unsafe.

“They have the spirit of volunteerism,”  Romeskie said. “All the WOCRC staff are amazing. I have never had to refuse a request because the coordinator is so good at following my availability preference. Volunteering in West Carleton has opened my eyes. There is more need in our area than what you might think. Some people have nobody.”

For further information on the WOCRC and volunteer opportunities see www.wocrc.ca.