Shine remembers Mrs. Ginger Metron, volunteer champion and recipient of the 2012 Wayne C. Dunn Spirit of Service Award.
Ginger was involved with Shine (formerly The Sunshine Foundation of Canada) since our beginning in 1987, and helped shape the mission and programs we still fulfill today. Her child centered philosophies and optimistic view of possibility for children formed the rudder that steers us. Most recently Ginger served as an Honourary Board Member with Shine. "Her smile and enthusiastic energy is missed but her spirit lives on every day in the work we do." - Nancy Sutherland, CEO of the Shine Foundation.
Ginger has dedicated most of her professional and personal life to improving the lives of children who live each day with challenges. She became involved with the Shine Foundation during its inception in 1987. She has contributed to the growth of Shine from a community group to a thriving national agency. Ginger was on board one of three planes headed from London to Disneyland as part of Canada’s very first DreamLift. She was tireless as a volunteer, lending her expertise as a physiotherapist, assisting dozens of children on and off the planes, coordinating ground transport, wheelchairs, and more.
Over the last 25 years she has been a champion for Shine by volunteering, making sure her medical colleagues know about Shine's program and taking on an executive position on the Board of Directors.
As a retired physiotherapist whose professional career focused on working with children with disabilities and acute illnesses, Ginger knows first hand how children and families can struggle to cope with the challenges of living with a disability. “Ginger understands the impact a Shine Experience can have on a child. She has always seen the bigger picture and understands the transformation and empowerment it can bring,” says Pat DeMeester, President of the Shine's National Board of Directors. “She has been instrumental in developing policies and procedures that have contributed to the faith and trust families and professionals have in the organization. She has done all of this not for accolades but to brighten the futures of children, and that deserves to be honoured,” explains Mr. DeMeester.
