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Recognizing 75 years

Salmon Arm has been a small town with a big heart for a very long time.
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Service and support: Dignitaries and volunteers

Salmon Arm has been a small town with a big heart for a very long time.

When the Canadian Cancer Society was formed in 1938, the first branch office opened here.

President of the Girl’s Hospital Aid at the time, the late Senia Howard opened the office and took on the role of branch president.

“It just sort of dropped in my lap,” said Howard, when she was honoured in 1988 for her long and dedicated service – service that included a decade as campaign chair for the whole area.

As she accepted a silver tray in a ceremony commemorating 50 years of service to the Canadian Cancer Society, Howard spoke of the importance of education, but was quick to note the society does a lot more.

That spirit of service continues in Salmon Arm today, where current branch president Terry Jobe lists some of the services provided –  free wigs, many made with hair donated by local hair salons, a cancer support group facilitated by Tovie Green and a group relaxation led by Nina Dickins.

“We’re a referral service; we find information for people, steer them in the right direction, provide financial support for those that can’t afford to travel and get accommodations,” Jobe says, noting some 23 volunteers handle in-memoriam and other donations, help with mammography clinics and host special events such as the Relay For Life. “We have tremendous volunteers who run the office and help with special events and we have monthly meetings, sometimes with guest speakers to increase our knowledge.”

Jobe is quick to point out that only six per cent of what is raised goes to administration in Kelowna.

“We don’t know the exact amount, but what we need, we get,” Jobe says, noting that she has a good reason for taking on the role of president.

“For me it’s a personal thing, it’s pay back time,” she says. “I was newly retired and got breast cancer, and was blown away with the way I was treated by everyone, especially going through radiation.”

At the local unit to discuss Relay For Life, cancer survivor Alvina Cameron also raves about the Salmon Arm branch.

“They were my inspiration and they empowered me through my treatments,” says Alvina Cameron, who is an avid supporter and fundraiser of, and participant, in the annual Relay For Life. “Walking into this office, I just felt safe and I felt there were people who were going to support and nurture and love me.”

Cameron says she had many questions and volunteer Brenda Kurtz took her under her wing, guided her and made her feel that she shouldn’t be afraid.

“Whatever I was afraid of, I could ask questions. Brenda was awesome and we could share whatever we wanted,” she says. “Even now, when I walk in here, when I go to the back room I feel that extra energy, that empowerment,” she says, noting the local support group became an integral part of her treatment.

“There were three others going through the same type of regime, a lady two chemos ahead of me, and another one behind,” Cameron says. “And I could tell by the lady ahead of me what I was going to experience – it was a three-person support system.”

Cameron’s advice to anyone who might be facing their own battle with cancer would be to go to the Canadian Cancer Society unit in the Shuswap Park Mall and enlist the help of the volunteer support army and the services they help provide.

“I wasn’t gonna come to the support group because when you hear the word cancer, all you want to do is hide, crawl into that hole, not talk about it, not say anything to anyone because you’re afraid of the unknown,” she says, noting the relaxation and visualization group was also tremendously helpful.

“That was really important because your mind goes into a non-stop fit and it’s hard to relax, but it has been proven that if you can relax, the T-cells in your immune system work better.”

And the work that Salmon Arm volunteers perform ranks high in the regional offices of the Canadian Cancer Society.

“They are one of the strongest volunteer units in this region for increasing their reach and for letting people know that we are here to help,” says regional director Sally Ginter. “They truly are the ambassadors.”