Twice a year, Distress Centre holds an evening to show appreciation for the amazing volunteers that make it possible for us to do the work that we do. The theme of the night was storytelling.

Crisis line and online services volunteers answer calls, chats and texts that come through to our contact centre, from distressed Calgarians all over the city. Leadership volunteers pass on their experience and knowledge to new volunteers through coaching and mentorship.

Fund development volunteers donate their time to help at casinos and other fund development initiatives to help us raise the funds to support our services, which are all free of cost.

Distress Centre is governed by an exemplary group of volunteers who make up our Board of Directors. They bring exceptional skills, vision and experience to lead strategic direction, governance and fiduciary accountability.

Admin volunteers give their time to make the day-to-day operation of Distress Centre go a little smoother.

Every volunteer at Distress Centre plays an integral role in helping us to achieve our mission and respond to Calgarians in distress. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to show our appreciation on the rainy evening of May 14th at the Arts Commons Engineered Air Theatre.

We started the evening by honouring some of our volunteers in three categories. A highlight was getting to say thank you to Laura (pictured at the top of the page [right]), who been volunteering on our crisis line for 25 years!

Executive Director, Jerilyn Dressler (left), with crisis line volunteer, Manak, who received the Volunteer Engagement Awards.

See the full list of recipients below.

Years of Service Award Recipients:

  • George – 12 years
  • Donna – 12 years
  • Laura – 25 years
  • Janine – 21 years

Good Neighbour Award Recipients:

  • Simon
  • Gordon

Volunteer Engagement Award Recipients:

  • Altamish
  • Douglas
  • Sandy
  • Peter
  • Manak
  • Che
  • Lydia

See more photos of the awards ceremony.

Following the awards ceremony, we enjoyed an improvisation show by Loose Moose Theatre Company. Then we welcomed Hilary Chapple and Anne Cartledge to the stage to share their stories on their experiences with homelessness. Anne shared a poem about Distress Centre.

Thank you to our volunteers, sponsors, Board Members, staff, speakers and guests who joined us for this evening of appreciation.