CARNDUFF — When Carnduff celebrated its Homecoming weekend, part of the festivities was recognizing two volunteers in the community. Rachelle Apperley was one of them, featured in a previous issue of the Observer. The other was Carol Vanstone.
Carnduff wasn’t obligated to publicly acknowledge two volunteers, but it did, and the two provide a study in contrasts.
Rachelle has lived her whole life in Carnduff, with the exception of a couple of years when she attended college. Carol moved to the area as a young adult.
Rachelle is a young adult who loves to volunteer. Carol is a senior who has loved volunteering longer than Rachelle has been around.
Vanstone was born in Deloraine, Manitoba and, as a child, moved often with her family. In 1972, she married a farmer, Merlin, and settled south of Carnduff, focusing on being a mom to Diane and Malcolm and being a farmer’s wife.
Merlin passed away in 2006, and two years later, Carol moved into town.
Carol’s parents were big into volunteering, so she comes by it honestly. You might say it’s in her DNA. Her volunteering stepped up a notch when her children began getting involved in various activities…and she has been busy as a volunteer ever since. She believes the children who are active in activities ought to bring out a ‘volunteering spirit’ in their parents.
Her first volunteering gig was as a leader with CGIT—Canadian Girls in Training. That seemed to open the door to further volunteering opportunities. She has served as a funeral coordinator with the United Church Women, and as the treasurer of the Sunset Haven Auxiliary. She also volunteers with the local Legion, putting their calendar together and heading up their poppy fund. In all these roles, she also performed other duties.
She also volunteers with the Knit Wits, a local group that knits and crochets prayer shawls to give to people who are grieving, suffering from illnesses, or recovering from surgery. She has also served on many boards.
Although she no longer volunteers at the local gymnastics club, she looks back with fondness at the years that she did. It brings her much satisfaction knowing that the work she did ‘way back then’ continues on, as the club is still thriving.
As much as she was honoured in being recognized for her volunteerism, it also created some discomfort for her. She is quick to mention that there are many in her community who are deserving of the recognition that she has received. She is thankful that she wasn’t the only one to receive accolades this year. She would have felt even more uncomfortable had she been the only one ‘in the limelight’.
About a dozen years ago, one of the classes at Carnduff’s school had an assignment to interview a volunteer. Each student had a set of questions they were to ask and were told that they could ask an additional one of their choosing. The student who interviewed Vanstone asked the required questions and then added this one: “Have you ever thought about doing something that you could be paid for?”
Vanstone laughs, even as she thinks about this today. She did work for a few years—for a salary—in the local library following her husband’s passing.
As busy as Vanstone is with her volunteering, she does find time for other things. She plays canasta and aggravation with her friends. She also enjoys golf, but has a handicap that is too high to talk about. She blames that on spending too much time volunteering. That’s her story…and she’s sticking to it!
But perhaps her favourite way to spend her non-volunteering time is hanging out with her only granddaughter, Autumn, who lives in Regina. Even that occasionally leads to more volunteering, such as selling flowers at Autumn’s dance recitals.
It has been said that an employee is good for a wage, whereas a volunteer is good for nothing. Vanstone has spent most of her life choosing to be ‘good for nothing’. She feels that’s the least she can do for the community she enjoys so much.
