MB honoured for volunteer service
Don Boddy of Portage la Prairie, Man., travelled to Halifax to receive the national Outstanding Volunteer Service Award of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), August 23. Boddy is president of the central Manitoba region volunteer board of CMHA, and treasurer for the provincial division. The Outstanding Volunteer Service Award honours a volunteer who has given much time and effort to many different services provided by the CMHA in the field of mental health, and has had an impact across Canada.
“Mr Boddy has volunteered unlimited hours to the organization as well as his heart and soul. He has a passion for mental health and the general wellness of the community and everyone involved,” says Laura Evans, senior administrative assistant for the national office of CMHA.
In addition to attending meetings, event planning, and program expansion, Boddy regularly spends hours each week talking with people on the phone or going out for coffee. Word gets around that the former MB pastor (who dealt with mental health issues himself) knows who to call for help, and generally has a listening ear.
“The crossover is excellent” between Boddy’s day job as employment facilitator for Employment Development and Placement Services, and his involvement with CMHA, he says, and he spends so much time volunteering people sometimes think he works for the latter.
“The issues aren’t that different,” between physical and mental illness, Boddy says. “The stigma that people with mental illness face is a huge problem in Canada and it’s not that different in the church, where the illness is often spiritualized and attributed to the demonic.”
Boddy currently attends Community Fellowship in Newton, Man. Pastor Ramsy Unruh affirms Boddy’s work, saying, “Don is a good man with a heart to see people walk more well tomorrow than they are today.” —KB
