Perfectly shaped, homemade butter tarts are in the oven filling the kitchen of the Bowen Island Community School with an irresistibly mouthwatering aroma. "Yup, they are almost ready to come out", says Yvonne McSkimming, one of the three dedicated moms volunteering for the school lunch program, as she checks on the progress of the pastry creations that will be a part of today's hot meal.
McSkimming is a mother, a business woman, a singer and songwriter, an avid traveler, a leader, a woman of vision, a phenomenal cook as well as a volunteer extraordinaire. She humbly admits to spending just as much time volunteering for different causes and charities on Bowen Island and in the Vancouver area as she does working. "This is my fun and a way of showing people that they are important to me," she says as she whips together the ingredients for the main course. Today, the kids will be sinking their teeth into homemade lean burgers enriched with a nutritious puree of 10 different vegetables and fruits.
McSkimming defines herself as somewhat of an acquired taste, "you either like me, or you are not that fond of me," she says but to the women cooking with her today, she is an inspiration, a friend and a leader. Nancy Casalese's eyes light up as she talks about McSkimming. "She is organized, fun and knows how to get things done," says Nancy adding that "spending time with Yvonne is like spending time with a sister we talk a lot and laugh a lot." Slicing oranges at the other side of the kitchen island, Deshai Brar summarizes McSkimming's dedication to the community as "that is her her whole life is to give."
And to McSkimming, volunteering is a way of life and a legacy that needs to be a part of the social fabric. "I volunteer because that is what I am supposed to do. When you see or read volunteer-oriented stories in the news, you get a glimmer of hope of a great community and that glimmer needs to be a part of our culture. The only way I know how to do that is to do," she says.
And she does a lot. McSkimming dabbles in a number a large number of causes on the island. She regularly works with the Legion, the school lunch program, Bowfest, the former Bowen Youth Society, as well as runs the Synergy Collective Society an umbrella non-profit organization that helps charities reach their full potential. She says projects usually fall into her lap and she loves taking on the castaways that nobody else really wants to do, "I need to pay attention to what is needed and support the Bowenites who made this island as magical as it is and keep their footprints fresh and keep the legacy alive."
She is not alone. Volunteerism on the island is very strong but maybe not talked about often enough. McSkimming wagers that at least half of Bowen residents do service of one sort or another and believes that each and every volunteer should be celebrated. "If I had a wish, it would be for all the folks who volunteer on the island to come together and collectively look at how we can use our resources to create sustainability," she says while stressing that she is only one of many who do service for others.
McSkimming subscribes to the belief that living in a community and using its resources requires one to contribute back to it; a belief she wishes to instill in her son Kieron and the younger generation. "If we don't step in and are role models for our children, how will the youths ever know that volunteerism is crucial to the survival of a community?" she pointedly asks before adding that "at the end of the day, it is the right thing to do and we need to be teaching our kids that in order to change the culture and climate. They need to feel it every day."
Just above the kitchen counter, she points to a colourful thank you card the school lunch moms received from students proof that all the work volunteers put into the community doesn't go unnoticed and says, "if you want the world to be better you have to engage kids and show them there is real meaning in service. That is where I find mine."
AGNIESZKA WYKA
