 Shirley Jago is this week's Medicine Hat News Inspiring Hatter. Jago spends her time volunteering at a number of organizations in the community, including Canadian Mental Health, Saamis Immigration, and 4-H.--NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT |
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Helping out in the community is part of everyday life for Shirley Jago.
"Which hat I'm wearing depends on what day of the week it is," said Jago, this weeks selection as the Medicine Hat News' Inspiring Hatter.
And Jago must need a colour-coded desktop organizer to figure it all out.
On top of a full-time job with the Canadian Paraplegic Association, Jago sits on three boards, gives time to half a dozen other community groups and has been known to pick up shifts at bingos and fundraisers for a host of others.
Jago estimates her volunteer time adds up to "a few hundred hours per year."
"Well it's at least 10 to 12 hours each week, but then again I just spent the whole weekend in Edmonton at a 4-H event, so, well, it's a lot.
"Let's put it that way."
And that's just the volunteer work, not counting the contract work she does with the Canadian Mental Health Association, SAAMIS Immigration and Community Employment Services.
Where does this well-spring of community service stem from?
"Being a single mom and wanting to help out," said Jago. "Most non-profits need cash and most single moms don't have cash, so if I can give my time to an organization, that's how I thought I could help."
It's not just a quest to set some sort of record for volunteer time, either. Jago has personal reasons for getting involved.
She dove into working for the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life after a friend began battling the disease. She's now taken part in the last seven relays.
As for 4-H, the groups always been close to her heart.
Jago was a 4-H member growing up in a southern Manitoba, and after her move to the Hat in the late 1990s, Jago's daughter Sydney got involved.
She counts the 4H group, Cancer Society, the Brain Injury Relearning Centre and the Volunteer Centre as the causes closest to her heart, but also loves the fact her work with those groups have allowed her to branch out to other groups
"There are some people who are just everywhere in our community, lending a hand, smiling and encouraging others in all that they do," wrote Michelle Sauve and Sue Edwards in Jago's nomination for inspiring Hatter.
"Our community is a better place because of her."
She also lends her expertise as a board member of the Volunteer Centre, the Top Hat Bingo association and the City's Advisory Committee on Disability Issues.
And those lead to bingos and events for other organizations like last September's Firefit Challenge and the United Way programs.
"Medicine Hat is a really small community," said Jago. "There's always someone or some group who needs a bingo worker."
