The Elaine Hall Award for Outstanding Caring Service

As a special tribute to volunteers in the caring services, the Elaine Hall award was founded in 2000 as a Toronto Dollar Initiative. Each year three recipients are chosen to receive the award at the annual Toronto Dollar Party. This year the party will be held April 5th 2001 at 6:30 pm at the St Lawrence Market. (Jarvis and Front Street in Toronto).

The three winners this year are: Malcolm and Stella Savage (joint winners), Sylvia Tulluch and Iain Lowe. Malcolm and Stella Savage command deep respect in the Hospice community. The "Savage shift" as they call themselves have volunteered extensively since the inception of Trinity Home Hospice in 1990. They volunteer for tiring night shifts at a moment's notice. Never accepting the praise awarded, it makes them prime candidate for the Elaine Hall award. They are the type of volunteers doing the greatest work, shrugging off any indication that it was a great sacrifice. Very sensitive to people's feelings, during difficult meetings, they offered to sit next to those who needed it most (not always the patient.). Malcolm wrote great memos, he has an excellent wit, humour is often forgotten in these times when people are tense and sombre. Wild and wacky descriptions are always welcome and his entries were always a delight to read.

Sylvia Tulloch has been a volunteer with Trinity Home Hospice for two and a half years. As a massage therapy student she was interested in exploring the field of hospice care. Her gentleness and compassion were very much appreciated by all her clients. As a massage therapy volunteer, her enthusiasm and particularly the gratefulness of her clients, led to the development of a Complementary Therapies Program at the hospice. There are now five volunteers, each of them certified in a different therapy who are available to the hospice clients. Sylvia embodies many of the characteristics of Elaine Hall. Her warmth and compassion has endeared her to her clients, her practicality and innovation has led to an innovative hospice program.

Iain Lowe has been a volunteer with Trinity Home Hospice for three and a half years, during which time his clients appreciated him for his dry wit and his ability to just "be". Iain's calm and quiet strength allowed his clients the space to talk out problems and share concerns. Iain expanded by serving on the Hospice Association of Ontario's Conference Committee. Wishing to give more of his talents, Iain became the on-call computer expert, web page designer and trainer for the staff at Trinity Home Hospice Now Iain and his partner, Kathryn are proud parents of Hannah!

The introductory year (2000) was dedicated to the volunteers of Trinity Hospice Toronto. Elaine Hall was a founding board member and a long standing enthusiast for hospices and in particular for Trinity. It was her zeal and seemingly never ending energy which inspired a wide circle of volunteers each bringing more and more talent, drawing on their own resources. This award is offered to both celebrate Elaine Hall's life and to honour her legacy at Trinity, for those like herself who quietly and often heroically offer compassion to those in need.

Nominations for 2001 are open to anyone. Witnessing the work of an outstanding caregiver? Collect a form from any hospice in Toronto, and mail the submission to: Elaine Hall Award for Caring Service, 205-1055 Bay St., Toronto ON M5S 3A3. For more information regarding nominations please call 416-963-9140. Elaine Hall was born and raised in Ontario, she trained as a registered nurse and public health nurse to work in the Northwest Territories. Returning to Toronto to raise her family, her mother in law, Win Hall, motivated her to join the Voice of Women. (an advocacy group working for, amongst other things, disarmament, peace, and women's rights.) Becoming involved in hospice work through a sick friend, as described in the book "Twelve Weeks in Spring" by June Callwood, Elaine Hall was instrumental in founding Trinity Home Hospice. When her husband was dying with cancer, she thought she had "Come full circle" as she described it, with the hospice's volunteers helping her. Of course it was only thirteen months after his death, that she had to put in a second call to the hospice, this time she was the victim of cancer and needed them to help care for her. She died in April 2000