Collingwood Today – People of Collingwood: Lorie Ring, retiree and volunteer at Hospice Georgian Triangle
A Collingwood volunteer has been bestowed the June Callwood Award for her work supporting those in their dying days.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood, we spoke with Lorie Ring, 64, a retiree and volunteer at Hospice Georgian Triangle.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Winnipeg, primarily. I was born in Saskatoon.
I moved to Toronto when I was 30. I had my career there.
I moved to Collingwood permanently eight years ago.
Q: What was your career?
A: I was in financial services. Banking, and mutual funds. I did communications, marketing and product management.
Q: What brought you to Collingwood?
A: It’s a typical story.
We skied here in the winter for many years. We had a townhouse in the Town of the Blue Mountains for 15 years.
When retirement came, my husband and I spent a year in that townhouse and decided to make it permanent. We bought in Collingwood.
Q: How did you start volunteering here?
A: When we moved here, I asked everybody I met through activities like hiking or Probus, what they were doing for volunteer work.
Different people said different things. At a Probus dinner, I asked and a woman said she was looking to retire from the Winter Blast committee for Hospice Georgian Triangle. Her job was to run the silent auction. My bells and whistles went off. It was exactly what I wanted to do.
My heart has always been in hospice. I lost my sister 28 years ago at the age of 37 to breast cancer. She died in a hospice in Winnipeg.
I had first-hand experience of what it was like to be failing with your health in the hospital system, and then to have the peace and comfort of hospice.
I said I would take the role.
Q: Do you volunteer anywhere else?
A: There are at least 15 Probus clubs in the area, all volunteer-driven.
I’ve been president of Probus by the Bay for the past year, which is a women-only Probus. It’s women helping women.
I want to give back to the community that I get something from.
Q: How has your volunteering at Hospice Georgian Triangle evolved?
A: I thought the committee was all I was going to do.
To become a certified volunteer, you have to go through 30 hours of training to understand the ins and outs.
I didn’t have a plan to do that, but when I walked into Campbell House, I got an overwhelming feeling that I needed to be part of what it was.
I chose the role of reception, and I did that for many months. I liked working Saturday afternoons.
I should write a resume of all the wonderful opportunities I’ve been given at Campbell House. I took a grief support course. I worked with clients from our community who needed extra support through their grief. It was a privilege.
I started doing more on the foundation side. I’ve sold 50/50 tickets, I help out with their annual gala, and the Hike and Bike. I serve on the communications committee. I iced smile cookies at Tim Hortons to raise funds for Hospice Georgian Triangle.
You are helping to give comfort and care at the end of life.
Q: What have you learned in your time volunteering for Hospice Georgian Triangle?
A: I’ve learned a tremendous amount.
Everyone has an end of life.
When I tell people I volunteer with hospice, there’s always trepidation about how difficult it must be to offer those services. I wish everyone could be so fortunate to spend their final days, hours or weeks at Hospice Georgian Triangle.
I’ve learned they’re about much, much more than just Campbell House. It’s an extreme privilege to be a person who is present on the journey of a family or individual’s end of life.
Q: You’re a recipient this year of the June Callwood award. How did it feel when you found out?
A: I cried.
It’s a very high honour.
It’s something I share with everyone who is or has volunteered with Hospice Georgian Triangle. We’re all in this together.
It feels very nice to have this recognition.
This organization always has been extremely generous with their appreciation of their volunteers. They show it in many ways. It was already rewarding to be part of this organization.
Q: What are your hobbies when you’re not volunteering?
A: I’m a member of Blue Mountain Golf and Country Club.
I still ski in the winter.
I have a rich retirement life, which is so great.
If I have spare time, I have people at hospice I can call and say, “I have time next week, how can I help?”
I want to give Hospice Georgian Triangle as much as I can. It’s my favourite part of retirement.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email jessica@villagemedia.ca.
