{"id":700,"date":"2018-05-27T00:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T00:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2019\/?p=700"},"modified":"2019-06-27T02:32:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T02:32:44","slug":"volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2019\/volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"bringing food and friends together"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cI want more people to experience Camp Kindle. Not just the barbeque, but to see the impact and how it changes life for the better for so many kids.\u201d \u2014 Keith Shepherd<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

There\u2019s magic in cooking. As you combine ingredients, experiment with new flavours and share secrets, you bring a meal to life. Food also has the power to heal, to comfort and to nourish.<\/p>\n

Keith Shepherd will tell you that cooking is also an expression of love and friendship, a way of bringing people together. And it is. For 20 years, he has been bringing people together at camp with his famous barbeque lunches on Fridays.<\/p>\n

\u201cCooking is a way of bringing people together,\u201d he says. \u201cFood makes people happy and it\u2019s so satisfying to see someone enjoying a meal, especially a meal you\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cooking is one of the ways Keith gives back.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keith first became involved with Kids Cancer Care in 1999, when a group of retirees from work started volunteering their time to provide BBQ lunches at camp. Keith was still working at the company, so he became the liaison between the retirees and the company. He started coordinating rides and schedules for the retired volunteers and finding sponsors for the food and beverages.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember going to camp the first time,\u201d says Keith. \u201cI fell in love with everyone there \u2014 the kids, the staff, Christine\u2019s story. Christine was so appreciative and grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, Keith\u2019s generosity and role with Kids Cancer Care grew. \u201cWhen the original volunteers passed away or moved away and there wasn\u2019t enough money to cover it, I just kind of took it over and started funding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Keith and his team of volunteers, the barbeque tradition continues to this day at Camp Kindle. During the summer months, on Friday afternoons, Kids Cancer Care celebrates the end of the camp week with a barbeque lunch. These barbeque lunches don\u2019t only fill our bellies. They feed our spirits. And fill our hearts with gratitude. The weekly barbeques provide an opportunity for Kids Cancer Care to get together with our sponsors, donors and community fundraising partners to show our gratitude. They also offer our supporters a chance to meet the kids they are helping and a chance to experience the magic of Camp Kindle firsthand.<\/p>\n

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Shepherd’s Grill \u2014 always serving up a ton of fun.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cComing to camp is like going to a family reunion,\u201d says Keith. \u201cWhen I\u2019m recruiting volunteers to come out to barbeque, I say, \u2018Please come out to camp. You\u2019ll never receive more thank yous than you do at camp. The kids, the counsellors, the staff, the volunteers, everyone is so grateful.\u2019 You feel the impact you\u2019re making in your heart. I get people lining up to volunteer now. They can\u2019t wait. Its three and a half hours of smiles and you can\u2019t put a price on a smile. It makes you feel valued and leaves you with that feeling of \u2018What can I do next?’\u201d<\/p>\n

Keith is always looking for new ways to give. Every year, he makes a financial gift to Kids Cancer Care to keep the barbeque lunches going and recently added a provision in his will to cover the cost of the barbeques for 10 years after he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

Keith also sponsors Kindle Pursuit, a new fundraising event for Kids Cancer Care. Deeply invested in Kids Cancer Care\u2019s mission and success, he upped the ante for the post-event barbeque of Kindle Pursuit. \u201cI told them, \u2018If I\u2019m going to be doing it, I\u2019m going to come up with my own menu.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And he did. Keith satisfied event participants and sponsors alike with a gourmet meal of delicious beef burgers or grilled chicken with all the fixings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the Canadian maple burger with bacon,\u201d says Nikki Lamarche, a Kids Cancer Care employee who participated in Kindle Pursuit 2019. \u201cIt was delicious! I also got to have a beer with Keith in the beer garden. It was so great seeing Keith in his element.\u201d<\/p>\n

This past year, Keith also began sponsoring our parents\u2019 and children\u2019s cooking classes.<\/p>\n

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Kids Cancer Care volunteer extraordinaire!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen I saw the photos of the kids cooking, I started to cry,\u201d he says. \u201cI said, \u2018Sign me up. I\u2019m in.\u2019 You\u2019ve just created two things that are beautiful with these cooking programs. You\u2019ve created a beautiful meal together and you\u2019ve brought people together to heal through food. Cooking warms your soul. And these kids need this.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the foods and friendships they enjoy at our cooking classes, each child and parent receives a souvenir apron, courtesy of ReDo It Renovations, Keith\u2019s company.<\/p>\n

Keith gives back for many reasons, but top among them are his gratitude for having two healthy children and for seeing the smiles of the kids at camp. His parents were both big volunteers, so giving back to the community is a way of life for Keith. It is something he will always do.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, there are only a few things I need \u2014 food for my dogs, money to pay the bills and support for my charities,\u201d he says. \u201cMy kids are always number one, but they\u2019ve already been looked after. I would rather see myself and my money make a difference while I\u2019m alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thank you Keith and the hundreds of volunteers who help us maximize our resources to make our free programming possible for families facing childhood cancer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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