Janice was born and raised in Calgary. Prior to retirement she worked in the insurance industry.
Janice first learned about CIWA at a craft fair in the lobby of her former office building. She visited CIWA’s Craft table and purchased an apron that quickly became one of her favourites. She said that the name of the organization stuck in her head and after retirement it was the first place she thought of to seek a volunteer position.
Janice thoroughly enjoys teaching adults, and she has confessed that this is something that she wanted to do all her life, but never had the time. Now that she is retired, she dedicates her time to helping immigrant seniors to learn and practice English, in order to make their integration to Canadian society smoother.
Since she began volunteering in early 2023, Janice decided that she will now pursue teaching adults; especially by providing ESL supports. She has since enrolled in a Foundational Literacy Teaching course. She is dedicated to this cause and continues to make efforts to learn and grow as an individual while improving the quality of services provided to clients.
“Volunteering has helped my self-esteem immensely”. She said she spent time observing how staff taught the class and said to herself “well I can try and now I am the teacher! I never thought I could have done this.”
Janice said she enjoys the freedom to plan and develop lessons. She is given a lot of latitude and feels appreciated, valued and supported by staff. She also likes that staff asks her what she thinks about some things and says ‘that’s a great feeling’.
When staff nominated Janice for Volunteer of the Month, they said, ‘As Everyday English for Seniors is a volunteer led program, we depend and rely on hard working and enthusiastic volunteers such as Janice.’
Her love of her students shines through in her interactions and dedication to the program. She is an outstanding, sensitive, and invested volunteer. CIWA staff are grateful that they can trust her with their class knowing students are in great hands.
Janice’s hobbies include; playing pickleball and learning new languages.