News Release
November 25, 2010
For Immediate Release
Longtime volunteer honoured for years of service
Janace King-Watson, a social worker for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, will accept the Peel Elementary Occasional Teachers’ Local (PEOT) award in the area of volunteerism for her work with Spectra Community Support Services, formerly, Telecare Distress Centre.
PEOT’s ‘Region of Peel Community Service Award for a Non-member’ will be presented to Ms. King-Watson on December 1, 2010 at the PEOT Awards Banquet at the Mississauga Grand Banquet Centre. The award is given to a long-term, unpaid volunteer in Peel Region who demonstrates the characteristics of service, commitment, dedication, caring and humility while performing their community service.
Before joining the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Ms. King-Watson worked at William Osler Health Centre in Brampton, providing services to individuals and families in crises and facing mental health problems.
“As a clinician, I often used Telecare as a follow-up resource in the community,” explains Ms. King-Watson. “As a result, I became familiar with their services and their mandate. I decided to volunteer with Telecare to share my expertise and to learn from their dedicated volunteers and staff.”
Ms. King-Watson has been a member of Spectra’s Board of Directors for over ten years, volunteering in various roles including Co-chair, Secretary and Acting Treasurer.
Vanita Varma, Executive Director at Spectra says, “Janace has walked many extra miles for our organization, contributing tremendously in areas such as strategic planning, fundraising and volunteer development. She conducted training to new volunteers on Managing Angry and Frustrated Callers and Suicide and Crisis Intervention.”
Ms. King-Watson also helps numerous people through her job with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic school board. She has worked at eight Brampton elementary and secondary schools since first joining the board in 2002, and currently serves at Cardinal Leger and St. Roch secondary schools where she provides students and their families with her expertise in the field of mental health and family mediation.
“Janace is an outstanding social worker, professional and community member,” says Patricia Codner, Acting Chief Social Worker for the Dufferin-Peel board. “She has a great ability to view a situation from multiple angles, and as a result, she does an exceptional job advocating on behalf of marginalized groups. We are very lucky to have her with our school board.”
“I am passionate about my work with students and families in helping to effect positive change in their lives,” says Ms. King-Watson. “My time at Telecare/Spectra has taught me so much about issues related to diversity, newcomer settlement and the need for expanded services for people with mental illness in Peel.”
Ms. King-Watson also helped develop some of Spectra’s most pro-active and forward-thinking community support programs, such as a telephone ‘check-in’ program for isolated seniors and mothers with post-partum depression.
“It was a great surprise when I learned about the award,” says Ms. King-Watson. “As a volunteer, I expect nothing tangible in return for what I do. I volunteer because I have been blessed in my life and I have a responsibility to give back to my community.”
“Volunteers like Janace,” says Ms. Varma, “makes this world a beautiful place to live.”
The PEOT is the Peel Region branch of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. It is a professional association that negotiates and enforces collective agreements, supports and advocates on behalf of its members and provides professional development.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is one of the largest and most diverse school districts in Ontario, with approximately 86,000 students in 145 schools throughout Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Orangeville. With over 10,000 employees, the board is also one of the largest employers in the region.
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Media Contact: Julia Seeratan, Communications Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24278