NHH Auxiliary honours three student volunteers with Dixie Mikel Scholarships
On Friday, January 4, the NHH Auxiliary honoured three exceptional young women by presenting them with the Northumberland Hills Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship Award in Memory of Dixie Mikel in recognition of their volunteerism and commitment to the hospital.
Yvonne (Dixie) Mikel was the wife of a prominent local physician, Dr. Don Mikel. A long-time supporter of the NHH Auxiliary, Mrs. Mikel founded the Student Volunteer programme at the former Cobourg hospital and it continues to this day at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH). At the ceremony in the Hospital Bistro last week, NHH Auxiliary President Marg Hilborn noted that Yvonne (Dixie) is also credited with developing the Candy Stripers program which welcomed caring and committed teenage volunteers to perform the same duties that this year’s recipients performed over the past few years. She also applauded their volunteer work during their busy secondary-school days and for making a difference for staff and patients.
The scholarships, each in the amount of $1,250, are awarded to successful applicants currently attending a university or college. Applicants must have accumulated a minimum of 80 volunteer hours at NHH and be attending a post-secondary institution taking courses that lead to medical degrees in health sciences, nursing, medical research or biotechnology. This year the recipients, who all volunteered in the Emergency Department, are Lindsay Kemp and McKenzie Macklin, both Bachelor of Science students at Queen’s University in Kingston, and Raquel Deperasinski, who is studying midwifery in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program at Ryerson University.
In addition to receiving their scholarships, each student received a certificate of congratulations from Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini. MPP Piccini delivered the certificates in person, on behalf of the Government of Ontario, in recognition of their outstanding volunteerism.
The award presentation was followed by a reception that not only celebrated the award but also honoured the students’ families for providing support throughout their volunteer tasks at NHH.
Students interested in learning more about volunteering opportunities with the NHH Auxiliary are encouraged to visit the Volunteer pages on nhh.ca for information, or go directly to the Student Application page by clicking: https://nhh.ca/Volunteers/StudentVolunteers