Jeannine McCarthy was presented with the Hilda Reddick Community Service Award at the Aldergrove Fair, in recognition of her long standing service to the community of Aldergrove and Langley.
In her retirement years Jeannine continues to serve as President of the Sts. Joachim and Ann Catholic Women’s League of Aldergrove, where she has volunteered for many years. This organization raises thousands of dollars every year which are donated to community groups, schools and charities.
She is also focused on fundraising in her position on the board of the foundation supporting Arcus Community Resources, which provides residential care to people with developmental, neurological and physical disabilities.
Jeannine was a founding member of Langley Hospice, which started around her kitchen table in the early 1980s. During that same period she helped found Langley Adult Daycare, which she then helped grow into Langley Senior Resources Society.
She has served on the boards of Langley Home Support, Langley Days, Langley Curling Club, B.C. Target Sports Ass’n., Langley Lions Ladies and many other organizations.
This spirit of service has also guided her professional life, beginning when she was a young district nurse counseling new mothers, to redefining the standard of care for people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia when she was a director of care at seniors’ facilities.
She developed training materials and programs for hospice volunteers, and taught health care workers the skills necessary to care for the mentally fragile elderly as an instructor at Vancouver Community College.
Up until last year Jeanine was helping organize Aldergrove Festival Days, where she lent her expertise in grant-writing and gaming applications, as well as running the annual Fair Days raffle.
Jeannine continues to be actively involved in her Aldergrove hometown in her retirement years and is a worthy recipient of the Hilda Reddick Community Service Award for 2018.