Judith and Peter Elkins

“Both our families and friends have set great examples for us in the area of community participation, stewardship, and accountability resulting in solid roots to evolve from.”

Activities

Community advocates, leadership, fundraising, and picnic aficionados.

Project

Joe King Park Fitness Centre, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada

Why Volunteer

Both Judith and I believe strongly that we are all measured by what we give, not what we have.

Inspiration

Our community and all the great friends we share it with.

Their Story

Judith and Peter met while volunteering on an organized bicycling tour. Judith was one of ten ride leaders and Peter was the tour medical officer. They also met Jack on the same tour in later years and have since developed a lasting friendship.

Generosity comes naturally for both Judith and Peter as they come from philanthropic families, and have enjoyed the benefits of a lifetime of service. They say “Both our families and friends have set great examples for us in the area of community participation, stewardship, and accountability resulting in solid roots to evolve from”.

To provide some background, Judith and Peter currently are residing on a environmentally and socially rich remote island community off the west coast of Vancouver Island, where the winter population is low and the public funding even lower. Peter: “Bootstrapping is a way of life here; if you want anything, you have to work hard and commit your own resources to the community or nothing will move ahead”.

Judith: “There were a lot of rumblings over the past few year that the community generally and more specifically the aging population would benefit greatly from an indoor fitness facility, especially during the winter months to combat a rural community condition referred to jokingly as “cabin fever.” “But how?” we kept hearing. At some point Peter heard the call and after some discussion around another picnic at the beach or on the mountain we both decided it was something worth committing our leadership skills towards and help out where appropriate. Peter: “It was a great pleasure for both of us to see the doors open in November 2007 and watch people’s faces light up with joy as they piled in to see what was accomplished by a community effort”.

Judith: “For us the biggest reward is watching others become inspired and add to a project as we collectively strengthen our community and continually improve our surroundings. It’s a great day when you see everyone putting their collective best foot forward and we look forward to many more projects like this one”.