Edmonton woman receives Governor General’s medal for exceptional volunteer service

An Edmonton woman has received the highest honour for volunteer service that a person can earn in Canada, for her long-time dedication to her community.

Jean Henderson received the Governor General of Canada Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers at a ceremony in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon. The award recognizes the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians who show passion, dedication and a commitment to the community.

“This is a little overwhelming,” a very humble Henderson said of the acknowledgment. “The years and years that you put into volunteering, it’s because you love it. And I love it.”

Henderson has spent more than 45 years volunteering in the Edmonton area, with dozens of agencies including the Edmonton Police Service’s crime and trauma-informed support services, Habitat for Humanity and the Alberta SPCA.

When she received the phone call from the Solicitor General’s office informing her she had won the award, Henderson said she couldn’t believe it.

“I said, ‘This is a scam, right?’ Who gets a call like that? I think I said to her three times it’s impossible,” Henderson said. “After her telling me a few of the things that she knew about me I figured it was true. But this is way beyond the scope of what I do it for. I just love it.”

It was the fundraising efforts Henderson did for the SPCA during the COVID-19 pandemic that got her nominated for the prestigious award.

Henderson was watching the news and learned that the Alberta SPCA’s donations were way down, and animal surrenders were going up. She was already making facemasks, so thought she would sell them for $5 a piece and donate the money to the animal charity.

“We got to $1,000 and Barb (her daughter) said, ‘Mom, maybe we can get to $2,000.’ And then it was ‘$4,000, maybe we can get to $5,000’,” Henderson recalled. “It just kept going and going and going.”

Soon, they hit a remarkable $20,000 in donations. With the help of donated materials, her daughter and husband, Henderson sewed more than 6,300 face masks.

“My mom, she is retired and has been on disability and fixed income for years due to a serious car accident,” Henderson’s daughter, Barb Henderson, said. “It doesn’t stop her, though. She makes the effort to get out, volunteer her time and stay active and current in the community.

“She rarely says no when she’s asked to help out. She is so humble that she doesn’t think she is doing anything out of the ordinary.”

The Alberta SPCA’s executive director said Henderson’s donation got the organization through a really difficult time.

“She’s one of those superhumans that thinks of everyone in her community first, and puts everyone first, be they an animal or a person. She just is one of those incredible people that we could not be more grateful to have in our sphere,” Leanna Niblock said.

“People like Jean don’t expect to be recognized. I think their hearts are so pure and they’re so kind and they want to give so much to their communities, that as she said, she didn’t do it for the recognition. She did it because she saw a need in her community.”

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon was not on hand for the ceremony. Henderson was presented her award by EPS Supt. Christa Pennie. Henderson got into volunteering with the EPS victim services unit through her son, who is an EPS staff sergeant.

“I started and I haven’t looked back. It’s been a wonderful experience. Doing victim services is not for everybody, but volunteering for any other place… it doesn’t matter where you volunteer,” she said.

“I feel like I’m helping something. You don’t do it for the accolades. If you’re in it for the accolades then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. You do it because you want to do it and you have to love it. And I love it.”

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