Volunteers like Kathie Woodcox serve as the engine behind the Royal Canadian Legion Brighton Branch 100.
The branch is widely known for supporting veterans and remembrance, but it also serves as a gathering place and community hub for Brighton and area residents.
And volunteers do it all: Dinners, dances, darts, cards, karaoke, rentals, craft shows, catering and more, which also help raise funds to support veterans and an abundance of local causes and projects.
“I feel a great satisfaction that I’ve done a good job and that people are happy, and it’s actually helped out the branch,” shares Woodcox, while reflecting on the last 13 years of her volunteer work here.
For Woodcox, volunteering has also changed her life.
She recalls knowing just one person when she first came to the area in 2013. A visit to a legion dance of all things quickly changed that – and soon enough, she was volunteering.
“It has been a great way for me to meet people and do things that I love to do,” she says.
At the dance, Woodcox met her husband – and she learned she had skills to share in service of her new community.
Ever since, she continues to give and donate her time through the Ways and Means team and its fundraising and catering events, through helping with the ladies’ auxiliary and areas like public relations, and more.
She says some of the most rewarding moments come after an event wraps up, and you hear from guests leaving happy and know the effort helped both residents and the branch.
For her, volunteering is about connection, accomplishment and pride in helping the community thrive.
You can also often find Woodcox volunteering in other roles, including with the local carpet bowling club since 2015.
“If you’re brand new to town and you really don’t know anybody here, I think volunteering is a fabulous way to meet new people, to learn what clubs there are … what businesses are here, what organizations are represented …”
To residents wondering about ways to give back, there’s no shortage of options at the legion.
You can hear more about ways to do just that and listen in below to Woodcox’s full interview, presented by sales representative Paul Lang with Coldwell Banker RMR Real Estate.
