When she was 72, Pru Cunningham, a former Nanaimo resident, was working as a volunteer Senior Citizen Councillor in Victoria helping seniors live independently in their own homes but over and over again, she would look in the fridges of her older and more disabled clients and find little or nothing inside.

Realizing that they couldn't remain living on their own if they couldn't get out to do their grocery shopping, Pru made an appointment to meet with Alex Campbell of Thrifty Foods and a few weeks later the Sendial Program was born.

The program sees volunteers taking telephone orders from housebound folks and doing their shopping in the store. Thrifty Foods employees then deliver the order. Until recently orders over $25 were delivered free of charge but now, thanks to dramatically increasing costs, there is a $5 charge for all deliveries.

Now 91, Pru is still coordinating the program in her local store but she says with a laugh, "We are looking for a replacement because one of these days, I just might die on them!"

When the program started there were just five stores and 30 volunteers. Today there are eighteen stores and 533 volunteers.

In Nanaimo Jean Carr has been volunteering with Sendial since 1991. Soon after she retired, her aunt suggested she join her as a volunteer and she's been there ever since.

"I get a lot of satisfaction helping people that can't get out to do their own shopping," she told me, "plus I have a wonderful group of volunteers to work with. I've made a lot of friends here."

Fran Lane is another of the more than thirty Sendial volunteers in Nanaimo.

"I retired and then began looking for a job," she laughs. "I needed to have something interesting to do and community work came to the fore, a chance for me to give back."

Fran has taken a number of different volunteer opportunities but she says the Sendial Program has given her the most satisfaction.

"It's rather selfish," she told me, "but it gets me out to socialize and keeps me functioning. It's a dual thing. I also like it because you are behind the scenes."

Fran is not one who likes to be out front taking the bows and when I asked her if she would be part of a television feature I am doing on Shaw's Channel 4, she was quick to refuse my invitation.

Pru, Jean, and Fran all wanted me to tell you that they are always looking for volunteers. All you have to do is drop by your local Thrifty Foods store to register and I can tell you, you'll get to hang out with some pretty special people.

On another note, I was honoured to be asked to MC the launch of the very successful "We Love Mount Benson" fundraising campaign last Sunday evening. The event was organized by the Coalition to Save Mount Benson.

As you would expect, the staff and volunteers did an excellent job but special recognition should be given to all the musicians who donated songs to the "Ode to Benson" fundraising CD produced last year. As many of those musicians that could make it also volunteered for the entire evening on Sunday even though there was only time for them to play three songs. These are among the best musicians in BC, and perhaps all of Canada. It's a testament to their character that they enthusiastically donated their time to this cause. It's also a testament to the cause.

Special thanks to Ken Hamm, Gary Fjellgaard (He and Lynn will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in June!), Andrea Smith, Gerry Barnum, Narissa Young, Jerry Paquette (who also provided the sound system free of charge), and Paula Lindsay and Friends.