Local Volunteers Presented With Prestigious Award

Saturday, 16 April 2016 08:40

Five members of the Friends of the Woodstock Art Gallery were presented with the The June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Volunteerism in Toronto recently.

Five local women were honoured with a prestigious volunteer award in Toronto recently. Ann Pearce, Maureen Brankley, Lucy Carter, Karen Seguin and Diana Gorbould were proud recipients of the June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Volunteerism, for their work with the Friends of the Woodstock Art Gallery.

Director Curator Mary Reid tells us about the award.

"This is an award that is put through the province of Ontario. It's a highly competitive award and it's named after June Callwood who was a social activist, she was also a journalist and she also founded a number of organizations that were helping towards improving people's lives in Toronto."

The June Callwood Award is presented to up to 20 volunteers across Ontario every year. Ann Pearce, who is the President of the volunteer group, tells us her thoughts on winning the award.

"We thought it was wonderful, it certainly a credit to the work that has been done at the gallery and it's sort of accumulation to all of the great things that have been done over the years. As of right now we have such a wonderful gallery and we are so pleased that the province recognized the work that went into it."

The Friends of the Woodstock Art Gallery have been doing lots of things to help the gallery since 1966. Reid gives us the details.

"Anything from operations, to raise money, to run the gift shop, to various types of fundraising activities. That's sort of the kind of core benefit that the Friends have done for the Woodstock Art Gallery."

Back in 2011, the Friends contributed about $150,000 to help move and expand the gallery. Each year they also offer a $1000 scholarship, to a local high school student who would like to pursue a visual arts education in college or university.