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Community Service
DCC
employee trades vacation time for Hurricane Katrina relief
help When Patricia O’Donnell received the call from the
Canadian Red Cross to help coordinate relief efforts for
survivors of Hurricane Katrina, she didn’t think twice.
After wrapping up work as a Contract Coordinator at the FOX-Main DEW Line site at Hall Beach, Nunavut, Patricia, an
Environmental Project Officer with Environmental Services at head office, decided to use
her vacation time to help those in need. There
were several challenges Patricia and the other volunteers
faced in Louisiana. She had been briefed by the Canadian Red
Cross on health and safety concerns in the area, including
water disruption, power outage, limited food availability,
extreme heat and humidity, housing shortages, limited health
care access, extreme emotional stress, difficult travel
conditions, transportation limitations, and air quality and
respiratory concerns. "I think everyone was aware that as difficult as some of the conditions were, they were nothing compared to what others were facing," said O'Donnell. "We all knew we would be going home, and had homes to go to.” Kids
are key Does
spending the weekend winter camping with 20 kids sound like
fun? For Patricia Baker, DCC Site Manager at ASU London,
it’s all in a day’s “work” in her role as a volunteer
with a local Scouting troop. Her troop of boys and girls aged
11 to 15 plans 10 camps a year, and she helps them develop the
skills they need. Richard Allie, Manager of Contract Services
at headquarters in Ottawa, is involved with three camps a year
as senior leader of a Cub pack, and helps run weekly pack
meetings. And his colleague Brigitte Trau, Administrative
Assistant, Contract Services, helps lead local and
international trips for groups of girls in her role as a
Division Commissioner with the Girl Guides of Canada. All
three volunteers say the chance to be with kids and help them
learn inspires their involvement with Scouting and Guiding.
“I enjoy being a role model for young girls,” says Trau. Christmas Giving 2005
The NATO Medal is awarded to military and civilian personnel who are, or have been, engaged in operations or in direct support of operations conducted by NATO. The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (CPSM) was created to recognize all Canadians who contribute to international peace through specific peacekeeping missions. Last year, there was one employee who received both of these medals: Ms. Marie-Reine Mereb, Manager, Contract Services The General Service Medal The General Service Medal (GSM) is awarded to members of the Canadian Forces and to Canadian citizens other than members of the Canadian Forces who deploy outside of Canada to provide direct support, on a full-time basis, to operations in the presence of an armed enemy. The following DCC employees received the General Service Medal for participating in Operation ATHENA (Afghanistan) in 2004-05: Richard Allie, Manager, Contract Services Keith Dyer, Contract Coordinator Shawn Helmerson, a contract manager for the DEW Line Clean-Up Project at Head Office, is not only part of the expanding DCC family, but is also part of an expanding family of his own. He and his wife Stephanie are foster parents. With three children of their own, they've been helping the local Children's Aid Society of Ottawa (CAS) for the past two years by taking in children who, for one reason or another, need somewhere to live. The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa's mission is "committed to protecting the children and youth of the community from all forms of abuse and neglect. They work to keep them safe and secure, both within their families and the communities in which they live." Find out more about society, visit the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa or contact your local Children's Aid Society. Saving Lives on Vancouver Island For DCC construction project supervisor Tony Knowler, leading his local search-and-rescue team is a way to give something back to his community. Saving people's lives is definitely rewarding work. "Because you generally have no line of sight in the forest, you typically go from zero results to 100-percent results, pretty much instantaneously," he says. His efforts have not gone unnoticed. He and his wife Susan shared the title of Metchosin Day 2003 Volunteers of the Year. Tony has one last bit of valuable advice to share with people who don't want to be searched for and rescued: "Never hike alone!".
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The Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC)