First Connection Volunteer of the Year

As we do every year at this time, we highlight one English-speaking volunteer (and one French-speaking volunteer) for outstanding contributions to our First Connection peer support programs. 

This year, caregiver Lori Galbraith, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, receives the Trisha Antonini First Connection Volunteer of the Year award . (The award is named in memory of a pioneering First Connection volunteer.)

"Being a caregiver peer volunteer, for me, means giving hope to others who are trying to find their way through supporting their loved one at an extremely challenging time. It’s a privilege and honour to come alongside them, even for just a little bit."

- Lori Galbraith

Lori has ‘come alongside’ many peer-matches over the last couple of years. LLSC has a high demand for caregiver-peers like her – particularly for parents with young children who are caring for a spouse with cancer. Lori’s story is so relatable to them; she was a 42-year-old mom with young kids at home when her husband was diagnosed with an acute leukemia.

Listen to a podcast episode where Lori talks about the emotional costs of caregiving, and the important role friends and family played in her experience. She wanted to pay that forward; a few years into her husband’s cancer survivorship, Lori got involved as a trained volunteer in the First Connection Caregiver Support Program.