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w w w .insidehalton.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 | 1 8 W ellspring recognizes 2 5 years of volunteering by Nathan Howes Oakville Beaver Staff When Oakville' s Liz Thomson first became a Wellspring Cancer Support Network volunteer, she didn' t know it was the start of something unique. Thomson joined Wellspring in the fall of 1992, with three other volunteers. It was at the time when the agency opened its first centre in Toronto. Thomson was inspired to get involved by its founder, Anne Armstrong Gibson, and her vision for Wellspring. The Oakville woman' s first role was working the front desk at the coach house in Toronto, which was "warm, friendly and inviting," Thomson said. "People looking for some emotional support from this terrible situation in their lives came into this little coach house and found peace and solace," she said. "It was really wonderful to see. It' s a pretty daunting diagnosis. To walk into a place and say, ` I need help,' is also very daunting," said Thomson. Since Thomson began volunteering 25 years ago, Wellspring has expanded into a network of community-based cancer support centres, providing programs at no cost, for those living with cancer and those who care for them. It offers more than 40 emotional, psychosocial, rehabilitative, practical and educational programs and services without receiving any core government funding. As part of Wellspring celebrating 25 years of offering support, Thomson was one of several volunteers recognized June 8 for their service to the organization. She was celebrated for her 25 years with Wellspring, while many others were also recognized for their five, 10 and 15 years of volunteering. "I sort of feel a little bit humbled by the whole thing, quite frankly, because I've enjoyed being a volunteer at Wellspring for all these years. It' s one of my passions - to give back to the organization and help people living with this disease, their families and their caregivers," said Thomson. In an email to the Oakville Beaver, Wellspring said Thomson has an "incredible eye for colour and style, combined with a keen understanding of what will make our members feel most at home." "Still today, Liz' s touch can be seen Liz Thomson | Riziero Vertolli/Metroland and felt throughout the house," stated Wellspring. Thomson has also been "very active" in fundraising initiatives, she said, at the coach house in Toronto and in Oakville at the Wellspring Birmingham Gilgan House. The latter opened in 2000 to serve the needs of people in Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga, Ont., and surrounding communities. It offers programs on a drop-in and registered basis for men, women and children with any type of cancer and at any stage in their cancer journey. Thomson was also a member of the Founding Committee, which helped bring Wellspring to Oakville with support from former Oakville mayor Ann Mulvale. "We got the house constructed and the property given to us. I decorated the inside of the first house, pretty much gratis, getting people to donate. It was wonderful," said Thomson, who also headed up the decor committee during the expansion of the Wellspring Birmingham Gilgan House. "Four of us basically decorated every inch of that new place." Wellspring opening a centre in Oakville was a New Year' s resolution Thomson had and shared with her family at one point, she said. "I used to tease everybody that I was sick of travelling into downtown Toronto. ` I'm going to have to see about getting something here in Oakville.' I said it jokingly, but then it actually did happen," said Thomson. "I made a New Years resolution and I was able to fulfill it. It was just one of those things." Thomson noted the Oakville house has more than 200 volunteers currently, a figure she helped grow through recruitment. Before the Wellspring Birmingham Gilgan House opened, she used her home as a hub for training new volunteers. "We really got it off the ground in a wonderful way in Oakville," said Thomson. "We carried on her (Gibson) mission. In Oakville, it' s just amazing the number of volunteers." Thomson and her husband are both cancer survivors, but the impact on them was minimal since she considers what they had was "nothing in comparison" to what other cancer patients are going through, the Oakville woman said. So becoming a Wellspring volunteer to help others was one of the "best things I've ever done. It' s been so rewarding and fulfilled so much of my life." "The majority of people with this type of emotional support live longer, live happier and w e' ve proven it does help. It isn' t a cure, but it' s certainly a help to people living with cancer every day," said Thomson. 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