One of the three ways that a Paul Harris Fellowship may be awarded is for the parent club to use its Foundation contribution points to nominate a particular member of its own club or the community at large. At our 24 October 2024, Celebration of Community Service at the Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover, we took the opportunity to recognize two people connected with our Club, each of whom have distinguished themselves in exactly the light that Paul Harris had envisaged. As introduced by RCNS Co-President Ross Gowan, we celebrated Virginia Lucas who has made such a significant contribution as a volunteer to our local community. Virginia summarized her approach to volunteering in the community with the passage from Luke 12:48 - "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.". Pure Virginia!
By going to the 'Read more ...' tab, you can read more detail in respect of the contributions Virginia made to her community. We are so happy to recognize the selfless & generous leader that Virginia is - she exemplifies the RI credo of 'Service above Self'.
Citation for Virginia Lucas:Virginia Lucas is highly regarded in Simcoe as a Community Developer through her work with Church Out Serving. She is Executive Vice-Chair of the Board, their highly successful grant writer, and part of their financial team.
Virginia has played a key role in launching several of Church Out Serving’s poverty related programs, including the We Believe in Simcoe event, their Laundry Matters downtown laundromat, their Community Food Services including the community gardens, Covid Food Hampers, the Ice Box (frozen meals), and the new Mobile Food Delivery pilot.
Virginia was actively engaged through the development, construction and launch of Riversyde 83, and continues to provide leadership there daily. She was key in the development of the Home For The Night out-of-the-cold shelter for the homeless and directs operations and other year-round supports for our homeless demographic.
