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For Ron and Michelle Elliott, volunteering has never been a solo act. Married for 55 years, the couple has spent nearly three decades giving their time to VON, side by side, sharing the work the way they share everything else.

"We're kind of a team," Ron says. "We do everything together."

Ron recently earned his 30-year long-service pin, and Michelle expects her 20-year pin next year. Between them, they have touched almost every corner of VON, from the boardroom to the front seat of a car headed to a medical appointment.

Ron's journey with VON began when he was running a pharmacy in St. Thomas, Ontario and a customer invited Ron to join him on the local VON board of directors, now the Community Corporation, a board made up of volunteers who fundraise for VON and build the organization’s profile in the community. He said yes and never looked back.

Over the years, Ron served on committees, chaired the board and worked with local politicians to help secure funding. Those who have worked alongside him say his leadership style is as important as his accomplishments. Penny Lycett, fund development coordinator at VON's Middlesex-Elgin site, has known Ron for many years and describes him as "the most diplomatic, empathetic, passionate, kind and caring person."

He and Michelle also became known for their creativity in raising money. They helped launch a trivia night that started with $2,000 raised in a school hall and grew into an event packing hundreds of people into downtown London hotels. It ran for 21 years. They also once raffled off a motorcycle ride to Niagara Falls.

When Ron retired and the couple settled into a new community, he shifted toward the hands-on work he had always been drawn to: the transportation program and Meals on Wheels. These days, he drives clients to appointments and to errands and he treasures the relationships that grow along the way.

"For one client, every Friday we go shopping, or she goes to get her hair done, and I've gotten to know her and her family really well," he says. "I always love listening to people's stories. It's a lot of fun."

Michelle's path with VON began some years later. "I wanted to give back to the community, because I believe if you give to the community, what goes around comes around."

She started with friendly visits, and spent eight years in the Adult Day Program, where clients greeted her by name. "The feeling when I walked in, and they'd light up and say hi. I felt so good because I just knew I was making a special day for somebody." Her friendly visiting also earned her a Heroes in the Home Award.

Today, Michelle makes Telephone Assurance calls from home, checking in on roughly 23 clients every weekday morning to make sure they are up and well. Once, a call helped get an ambulance to a man living alone. "If I can give them some connection in a day, then that makes my day," she says.

Ron sees VON's programs as a way to ease the strain on an overloaded healthcare system while giving people something they deeply want. "The more we can keep people at home supported, the better off the healthcare system is," he says. "And the better off the community is." The home visits, nursing, bathing and Adult Day Programs all help people stay healthy and independent in the place they most want to be.”

The couple describes VON as a family — volunteers and staff working together so people can stay in their own homes. "It's a wonderful feeling to be able to help someone out," Ron says. "It's the feeling of giving."

That feeling is one anyone can share. Whether you give your time as a volunteer or support VON's programs with a gift, your contribution helps keep neighbours connected, cared for and at home — right where they belong.