Awarded on: 2002-11-14
Janet Wendy Last, Ottawa, Ontario
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award
Since 1982, Janet Wendy Last has assisted people with disabilities at the Jack Purcell Community Pool. For nearly 15 years, she was a tour guide for students visiting the Canadian Museum of Nature. More recently, Mrs. Last has been helping Grade 3 students with their reading and has also assisted the visually impaired through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind by reading and recording documents and performing office duties. Out of concern for isolated elderly and disabled people in her community, she operates an informal "Buddy System," devoting several hours a week to checking up on them by telephone, providing a sympathetic ear and making herself available to run errands.