Friends of Fairvern recognizes two volunteers for 35 years of service

Helen Austin and Kathleen Mitchell have been volunteers at Fairvern Nursing Home since the facility first opened its doors 35 years ago.

Helen remembers the opening fondly. “I was the receptionist for doctors Cloutier and Ascah,” Helen recalled. “Dr. Ascah’s daughter was in university at the time and she was coming home for the summer. I said to her, ‘how would you like to work my job for the summer because I really, really want to work at Fairvern.’ I was so pleased that we were going to have a retirement home because we used to have to go to Bracebridge.”

Kathleen and Helen were recognized for their 35 years of service at a Friends of Fairvern luncheon this past week.

The ladies recalled that when they first started volunteering they quilted, sewed, took residents to church, to the foot clinic, to the dentist, for flu shots and even manned the front desk. Kathleen says she spent so much time at Fairvern that the residents asked her which room was hers.

The volunteers form the group, The Friends of Fairvern, and to this day continue to help improve the quality of life for the residents of Fairvern.

The Friends also do a considerable amount of fundraising for the long-term care facility. They raise money through their popular pie and bake sales, tag days and events.

The money that the Friends raise goes toward supporting current capital equipment needs, programming and to fulfill their pledge of $5,000 a year for five years towards the redevelopment of Fairvern.

On May 27, the Friends are hosting a roast beef dinner and silent auction at the Royal Canadian Legion. The silent auction table will be overflowing with items worth anywhere from $20 to $300. August 4 is the date of the Friends’ Tag Day.

Also note that on June 30, Huntsville’s own Roy MacGregor will be at the Algonquin Theatre at the invitation of Fairvern’s board of directors to present Canada at 150: The Bumblebee Nation that Somehow Flies, a fundraiser for the Fairvern redevelopment fund.

The Friends are always looking for more volunteers. Anyone interested in joining should call Marlene Schell at 705-789-4363.

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