Fellowship and need inspire Sally Turner.
“It fills a need that otherwise would not be filled,” Turner said of her volunteering duties.
The Sidney senior offers her time to shop sell, store and sort. She is the 2011 Hearts of the Community award recipient for overall service to the community.
“I have personally known this charming lady for over 10 years,” said her nominator and fellow BCS volunteer, Mavis Trask. “Sally is a member of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Auxiliary, making and providing the ingredients for jams, jellies, pickle and chutneys which she sells at their annual sale.”
In the decade since Turner moved to the Peninsula, she’s become gift shop convenor for the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Auxiliary, worked with the Sendial program at Thrifty Foods, works weekly at a Beacon Community Services thrift store, and volunteers to help seniors with their numbers during tax season. Occasionally she’ll volunteer as a driver.
“Add to all this, Sally is a good wife, mother, grandmother and friend,” Trask said. “She is a credit to our community. A truly remarkable lady.”
The happiness she conveys is something that comes back to her when she sees a smile on a face.
“I enjoy it,” Turner said. “It makes me feel good.”
The fellowship and filling the need seem to be all that are required. Turner also handles the volunteer thrift shop fund, which means she’ll pick up flowers and stop in for a visit with ailing thrift shop volunteers.
“You get involved in these things, you’re with a group of people that you get to know,” she said. “I’m happy that I was able to help somebody out or take them some flowers or whatever.”