Hello, my name is Marja.  My family (husband and our 3 children) emigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1988.  Shortly after arriving we welcomed our fourth child; life in Canada has been good to us.  With four kids and our own agriculture business, it was always a busy and exciting time for us.  Now [...]

Hi, my name is Sandy.  I started volunteering at the Thrifty Boutique in 2015.  I chose to volunteer and support the Hospice Society as I had family members in hospice as well as being a breast cancer survivor myself.  Volunteering at the store is the best!  I love the comradery of the other volunteers – [...]

Hi, my name is Darlene.  As I approached retirement, it was obvious that I would need to find something purposeful to fill at least a few hours.  In 2008, I took early retirement from the Calgary Board of Education and moved to Chilliwack.  A year later, I began working with the Chilliwack School District, retiring [...]

Hi, my name is Lise.  Along with my husband, I am now retired and living in Sardis.  I started volunteering at the Chilliwack Hospice Society Thrifty Boutique in 2012 when a neighbour of mine who was already volunteering asked if I wanted to as well, so I said, “Yes, of course!”  It is such a [...]

Meet Barry and Carmen, they volunteer at the Thrifty Boutique.  Barry works in the back with receiving donations and sorting.  He gets to meet the donors and many times hears the stories behind the items coming in.  Carmen is at the other end of the system working as a cashier. A few years ago while [...]

I am Julie.  I volunteer at Thrifty Boutique as well as for the Chihuahua Club of BC and the Canadian Chihuahua Club.   I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that my time is going to a worthwhile cause.  I have worked at Thrifty Boutique for a little over ten years.  I volunteer here because the [...]

Hi, we are Marilyn and Kerry.  We have a long history of volunteering with school, work, and church activities so when we hit our retirement years, with more time to give, it just made sense to continue.  The desire to give back to the community was instilled in us by both our parents. A suicide [...]

Hello, I’m Verna. I returned to my hometown of Chilliwack in 2014 and started volunteering for the Chilliwack Hospice Society shortly after. I volunteer in the Hospice office weekly, plus I support clients both in the hospital and the community. I also enjoy working on fundraising committees and have made several friends doing this. I [...]

Hi, my name is Marjorie.  I started volunteering at Hospice in 2002 after I retired from nursing and following the unexpected death of my youngest brother Dennis on Mother’s Day.  He was only 52 years old.  He was a fun brother and an awesome veterinarian, and his death rocked our family to the core. I [...]

Hello! My name is Sarah. I became a volunteer at Chilliwack Hospice Society in 2016.  I wanted to learn more about the dying process, how I could play a role in improving the experience for individuals and families, and the ways in which we could better support one another through grief and loss. I have [...]