48 — Wednesday, April 22, 1998 — North Shore News

olunteers Week—————
les make fast friends

Deana Lancaster

News Reporter
deana@nsnews.com

BOB Milburn-Brown is
one of thousands of
North Shore voiun-
teers.

and, like all of them, he

has his own special reasons for
* volunteering and iis own way
of doing it.

“I'm down in’ the base-
ment, working on sottware,
installations and programs,”
he says of his home-based
computer business. “And to
sit down there all day tong
doing that 2. I'm a people
person. I miss the human con-
tact.” ;

His wite had long been a
‘volunteer in the community
aid he thought following her

lead might provide him with

the social scene he craved.
Since he belongs to the
Shriners, he first looked to it
for a volunteer position.
He began to drive people
with cancer to their doctor
and hospital appointments.

vous at firse about saying or
doing the wrong thing.

During a “coffee klatsch”
after one of his _ first
Aquaturtles — sessions, — he
began to make himself busy,
pouring coffee and handing
our cake.

“I thought, “Oh, Pm a
volunteer. T should be deing

“But the people contact -
P

wasn’t there. You just rake

<wm@ them: to the hospital and then*

you never sce them again.”
He speaks slowly, in a quiet
voice. :

Last summer, he found
what he was looking for. He
volunteered with the North
Vancouver Recreation
Commission and told them

he’d work wherever he was

needed.

He was needed as a cecre-

ation access volunteer.

“T-remember whan | used
to. work at Metrotown and I'd
see groups of people ar cofice,
in their motorized chairs and
wheelchairs and Pd look at
(their aides) and think ‘I
could never do char..” Well,
Pm doing it and T love it.”

Milburn-Brown assists in
two oree chisses a week.

“Adaptive Fimess is. a fitness
class on land and in the pool
for people with mobility prob-
lems. (‘An alphabet soup” of
disabilities, says Milburn-
Brown: muscular dystrophy,
cerebral palsy. multipic selero-
sis, injuries duce to poliv, praia
injuries and suoke victims.)

“Aquat ies” ts 2 class in
the pool, r narily for stroke
victims.

For cach diss act which he
assists = Milburn-Brown — is
assigned one or more partici-
pants to work with.

He gives them = physical
support, helps them move

egheir limbs and offers che odd
silly joke to keep them sinil-

_ ing.

Why won't ennnibals cat
clowns?

Because they taste funny.

Aco first, says Milburn-

wqbrown, he was apprehensive.

“You don’t know what
you’re doing, and vou teel a
bit flustered.”

But the staff were support:
ive and there were other vol-

- owmnteers co help him and
answer questions.

“You feel responsible tor

them and at first vou wonder

‘Whar if something — hap-

pens?7™

Tre owas when one of the
stroke victims he was working
with wasn't feeling well in the
“pool that he realized there
was help all around him as the
lifeguard on duty took over

He says he was also ner-

OS

this for thent,” he says.

But ene of the woman
organizing use the gathering,
who had recovered from a
stroke herself, took him by
the arm.

“She said ‘You have co let
them do it. They need to do
things for themselves.” So
now [just sit and enjoy

NEWS photo Mike Wakefietd

BOB Milburn-Brown volunteers with the North
Vancouver Recreation Commission, assisting people
who have mobility problems with fitness classes.

A heartfelt

thank you to all

HARVEST &

our wonderful

Yolunteers. We simpiy

couldn't exist without you.
166 W. Esplanade, N. Van 983-9488

A

BIG
THANK
YoU

te all our
FRIENDS

Ree North Vancouver District
Public Library
The Friends of the North Vancouver District Public

Library volunteered over 500 hours of important work last
year in support of our library.

myself,

“Evervone sits and chats.
You don’t even notice any dis-
abilities, We're a bunch of
people on the carth helping
each other.”

His own rewards
been enormous he says.

As well as satisfaction and a
sense of pride, he's made lots
of triends. He even corre-
sponds by e-mail regularly
with one of the class partici
pants.

And he has a slew of ready
listeners for his jokes,

A caunibal weut on his first
cruise and was loaking ar the
menu at dinner.

He called the waiter over
and said “I don’t see ansibing
here [ like. .

Why don’t vou bring me the
passenger Liss?”

Organizations all over the
North Shore are looking for
volunteers. And if it’s some-
thing you've been thinking
about,

“Like the shoe ad,” savs
MUburn-Brown, “Just do it.”

have

NATIONAL
“VOLUNTEER.
in.19-25) WEEK

NORTH VANCOUVER

RCMP

Q Special Thank

ie Tom Seaman with

Constad dent Graham

Superinien

Our. community is a safer
place thanks to yous’.

| BIG SISTERS OF B.C. LOWER MAINLAND
CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY .
CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION NORTH & WEST.

VANCOUVER BRANCH

CAPILANO COMMUNITY SERVICES
| FAMILY SERVICES of the NORTH SHORE
FERRY BUILDING GALLERY

HARVEST PROJECT

HEART AND STROKE FOUNDATION OF B.C. AND YUKON
NORTH SHORE ASSOCIATION FOR THE
MENTALLY HANDICAPPED
NORTH SHORE CHILDCARE RESOURCE SOCIETY
NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY SERVICES
7 NORTH SHORE CRISIS SERVICES SOCIETY
NORTH SHORE KEEP WELL
f NORTH SHORE MEALS ON WHEELS
NORTH SHORE MENOPAUSE INFORMATION CENTRE
NORTH SHORE PRIVATE HOSPITAL/LYNN VALLEY LODGE
NORTH SHORE STROKE RECOVERY CENTRE
NORTH SHORE WOMEN'S CENTRE
NORTH VANCOUVER MUSEUM & ARCHIVES
NORTH VANCOUVER RECREATION COMMISSION
WEST VANCOUVER MUSEUM & ARCHIVES
WEST VANCOUVER SENIORS’ ACTIVITY CENTRE

If you want to

Volunteer phone -

Volunteer North

Shore at 985-7138

se

VOLUNTEER NORTH SHORE Ez

A division of North Shore Community Services