Walter Ricketts, Vancouver, British Columbia
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award
Walter Ricketts has been volunteering at the Triage Emergency Shelter in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver seven days a week, for the past 13 years. A quiet, unsung hero, Mr. Ricketts strips and cleans all 28 rooms each morning, does the laundry and maintains the building. In one of Canada's most troubled communities, Mr. Ricketts is an example of remarkable kindness and true compassion.