Almost ten years ago, Lail Weeks was diagnosed with breast cancer. That's when she realized Squamish had too few resources for victims of the disease, so once she triumphed in her battle, she began helping others win their own.
Weeks has been a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society Squamish Unit since October 1998 and on Monday (Oct. 17) Weeks received the Canadian Cancer Society's (CCS) Volunteer Award of Excellence from CCS regional president Leonard Schein.
"She has shown unwavering dedication to the CCS in her many roles, which include unit president, emergency aid volunteer, breast cancer visitor, door to door canvasser, daffodil sales and volunteer driver coordinator," stated a society news release. "Lail has contributed countless hours and has shown boundless energy toward helping the CCS achieve our vision to create a world where no Canadian fears cancer."
Weeks received a statuette of an inukshuk on an engraved base.
"I'm thrilled," she said. "It's not something you start out doing to get an award, but it was nice to be recognized."
Almost a decade has passed since Weeks's diagnosis, and improvements have been made in Squamish, but Weeks said there's room for more.
Weeks is currently a "reach to recovery" volunteer helping cancer patients with counseling and information, and she's also an emergency aid and drivers coordinator.
"I'm not really able to do a lot more," she said. "But there's been some restructuring [at the CCS] and more action from Vancouver is coming up."
Weeks said the most rewarding part of the volunteerism has been the drivers program. Weeks coordinates approximately 10 volunteers to drive patients to appointments in Vancouver or elsewhere who would otherwise be stranded by the limitations caused by their illness.
"That service is the most rewarding," she said. "People really need it, and the drivers have been fantastic."To volunteer as a driver, contact Lail Weeks at 604 898-5595. To find out how you can get involved as a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society, contact Kim Aubert at [email protected]
