August Volunteer Honour Roll

Ronica Li

I absolutely love having her on any project as I know she will bring a positive attitude, will be happy to help with any task, and is passionate about her role in the community.

Photo courtesy of Ronica.

Ronica has been with Youth Central for two years now and I sincerely hope that she continues to volunteer with us for many years to come. I feel that she is an amazing role model for others, both volunteers, and TLs alike. She demonstrates a genuine interest in all aspects of volunteering – connecting with her fellow volunteers, creating a positive atmosphere, and helping the community. She is a fantastic help in any project, but I especially appreciate her passion for green projects, as she is a huge advocate for environmental responsibility. I have known her since she was a blogger for Youth Are Awesome and I feel like she is very mature for her age. I am consistently impressed by her initiative and her ability to balance her commitments (or maybe she’s just really good at procrastinating and still finishing all of her things at the last minute). Besides volunteering, she is a talented musician, a witty writer, and involved in many other extracurricular activities. All in all, she is a dedicated volunteer and her contributions deserve to be recognized. – Richard 

Ronica is an amazing asset to the Youth Central volunteer team. Not only is Ronica committed to her volunteer work when at a project, but she also takes time to connect with her fellow volunteers and make sure they feel comfortable in the environment. Ronica is very mature for her age and has a lot of experience with projects due to her sheer number of hours volunteering. Due to this, and her positive attitude, she is always there to help when anyone (including team leaders at times) are confused with any aspect of a project. Congratulations Ronica, this recognization is well deserved. I hope to work with you again in the future! – Madison 

Thank you for bringing your ukelele to camp to bring the joy of music to the campers. Also for dedicating personal time to learn camp-friendly music, this is going above and beyond as a volunteer. Feel proud of yourself for the bonds you have created at camp, they are appreciated.

Photo courtesy of Lisa.

Ronica always has a smile on her face! She brings positivity to all the projects she has done. I have seen her step up and take initiative. She is constantly aware of her surroundings and filling where help is needed. I have seen her be a friend, mentor and an amazing role model on site. – Bhu

Ronica is clearly one of the best and easiest volunteers to work with. She is outstanding with her ability to understand the project needs and work with high flexibility to address those needs. She is an amazing help and always on top of things (I feel less stressed when I see her name on the project). She is highly mature for her age and never once have I had any problems with Ronica. She is friendly with all the other volunteers and takes initiative for the various tasks that are required. Ronica is no doubt a hard worker and she deserves this recognition.  – Sree 

Nithya Gopalakrishnan  

Although she had only volunteered for one week, her impeccable attention to detail and unwavering patience left a lasting impression on me ever since.

Photo courtesy of Nithya.

Nithya was a wonderful addition to the team at WinSport. Despite having challenging campers with an unpredictable temper, she never stopped being a role model for them in every situation, tutoring them about proper behaviour, establishing a lasting bond with them, and doing so with the warmest attitude and a big smile. It can be challenging to always stay in this state of activeness while maintaining great patience, but Nithya managed to do so with so much energy, dedication, and enthusiasm. Her counselor would not stop telling me about how much her contribution had made the week a much smoother and enjoyable time for everyone. I definitely hope she returns to WinSport for the years to come, and continue to excel as a hard working volunteer!

Nithya (Centre right). Photo courtesy of Doris.

Lucy Joe 

She is independent, enthusiastic about Between Friends, and always brings a smile to my face with her witty personality.

I always receive really positive feedback from the Between Friends counselors about Lucy. No matter which group that she works with, she connects with the campers and makes the extra effort to make sure campers are connecting with one another as well. Despite the long and challenging days, she keeps her energy up and strives to make it a great camp experience for everyone. Since she has been volunteering for several weeks in a row at Between Friends, she has had the opportunity to develop strong relationships with the Badgers group and I respect her commitment to helping the same group of campers and counselors.  – Richard 

Lucy has matured wonderfully over the two months she has spent at Between Friends. She has the ability to foster positive relations with campers and fellow volunteers without it interfering with her work. She is a consistent volunteer who is great at compromising with the people she works with in which everyone can benefit from the situation. She is able to hold her own, which is commendable for her age, and she can be more mature than is expected of her age. 

Sophia Jin

She is consistently engaged in any activity she is assigned to, whether it is playing with kids at a craft table or interacting with the elderly during a recreation day at a care centre.

Sophia is a relatively new volunteer to Youth Central, but she demonstrates maturity, enthusiasm, and conflict-resolution skills when it came to working with the kids at Calgary Humane Society. When asked which group she wanted to work with, she immediately said she wanted to work with the Grade 1-3s, which I really appreciate and respect because the younger kids are typically more challenging to work with. She embraced the challenge and was a valuable help to the counselors and building up positive connections with the campers. I have also had the chance to work with her at Expo Latino and interacting with seniors at the Southwood Care Centre. Sophia has shown me that regardless of the environment, she is able to connect with a diversity of people and build up meaningful relationships. – Richard

Sophia is a hard working volunteer who stays on task and is willing to step out of her comfort zone. She consistently demonstrates a passion to volunteer and spreads her positivity with all the other volunteers. Sophia works well with everyone she interacts with and is not afraid to make relationships. It has been a pleasure to have worked with Sophia and I wish her luck in her future endeavours! – Dalton

I was very fortunate to have Sophia for her first couple of volunteer projects with Youth Central. Right from the beginning, she was an amazing asset to the Youth Central team. Her upbeat and positive personality is always nice to have around any project. I am very happy to see that Sophia has continued to do much more projects throughout the summer. I hope to work with you again soon! – Madison 

Sophia brings forth a brilliant burst of positive energy towards her tasks as a volunteer. Her involvement at the Food for Peace project showcased her strong work ethics and open personality through her focused work and genuine interactions with other volunteers, staff, and patrons at the project. Sophia expresses an eagerness to create a lasting and meaningful impact in the lives of others by recognizing the importance of lending a hand to those in need and intends to pursue more social issues projects to achieve this. Her determination towards making a difference is matched with the overwhelming enthusiasm that she brings to her projects!  – Andy 

Lisa Shin 

Lisa brings a positive outlook to every project she attends, and her passion, maturity, and dedication has not gone unnoticed.

Photo courtesy of Doris.

I have been very lucky to have Lisa for a variety of different projects. No matter the task, she is always the first to offer to give a helping hand. She interacts so well with others including fellow volunteers, agency members, and children at summer camp. At camp, she was a great role model for the kids by playing and having fun but also looking out for their safety. Lisa, I have loved having you as a part of the Youth Central team and I hope to work with you again soon! – Madison 

Lisa is a fairly new volunteer, joining us this summer. I have seen her at so many projects this summer and at all of them, she has been professional, yet friendly. As the summer has progressed, I have noticed that Lisa is an incredibly passionate volunteer. She is willing to do any task with a smile. I appreciate everything she has done for the team so far and look forward to working with her in the future because I know greater things are to come! – Bhu 

Lisa’s enthusiasm really stood out to me the first time I met her. She’s truly passionate about the projects she does and even if she faces challenges, she approaches it with positivity. She has shown to me that she works well with people from all walks of life, whether it is kids, her peers, or seniors. – Richard 

Malaika Sethi 

To this day, the camp counselors she has worked with rave about her incredible hard work and parents of campers have showered her with gratitude.

Malaika (2nd from the left). Photo courtesy of Bhu.

Malaika has been amazing. She was assigned to work with one the most challenging group of campers ever. But instead of breaking down, she found ways to interact with her campers in a way that was positive for both her and the group she was working with. Yes, not every new method she employed worked, but she never gave up trying and by the end of the week, Malaika had this group of campers hanging on to every word she said. They looked at her as a form of authority and gave her respect. I am so proud of her. She took her struggles and turned them around into a big success. Malaika, be proud of your accomplishments, know that the impact you have made is important. I know where ever she will go, she will never give up. – Bhu

Kim Carmona 

She is unbelievable in that she can sign up for consecutive projects and many times double shifts but remain ever so enthusiastic and eager to help others.

Kim (right). Photo courtesy of Richard.

I have known Kim for over a year. She is one of my go-to volunteers when I need help. She is always willing to help around and is enthusiastic about her tasks. Her energy is contagious and her positive spirit motivates others around her. Kim has the passion to help at all the events she helps at. She is comfortable working independently and is an amazing volunteer in a team situation. Kim welcomes other volunteers and tries to get to know them to help them feel comfortable volunteering. Kim deserves this recognition and I hope she volunteers even more! – Sree 

I have seen Kim a lot over this summer. No matter what kind of project it is and no matter the challenges, working with kids, green team, and so on, Kim has always thrived with her patience, warm energy, and caring nature. Leadership is also something I have seen in Kim, she takes the initiative to handle situations as well as ask others if they need any support. It was a pleasure working with Kim! Her mature nature often makes me forget that she is just entering high school. – Lisa

Photo courtesy of Kim.

I have had the opportunity to work a lot with Kim over the Summer and I love having her on the team. She is a dedicated volunteer who brings her positive energy to a variety of different projects. I often see her take initiative in a project and she is always ready to lend a helping hand. Kim also takes the time to get to know the people in her surroundings including volunteers, staff, residents, etc. and helps make the environment comfortable for others. Thank you for your hard work Kim it is appreciated! I hope to work with you soon! – Madison