Anna Van Barneveld, a member of Duncan Christian Reformed Church, British Columbia, recently received the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award, an award for Canada’s outstanding volunteers.
Van Barneveld, 82, has volunteered her time and talents with the Red Cross for many years and has knitted skeins of yarn too numerous to count into hats for newborns from British Columbia to Bosnia.
Elna Siebring has received the tiny hats for the past eight years, distributing them in inner city Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Siebring, a member of All Nations CRC in Halifax, said, “The quiet work [Anna] does is one of those best-kept secrets and has reached across Canada and beyond.”
Van Barneveld was presented with the award Jan. 10 in Victoria, British Columbia. Iona Campagnolo, the province’s lieutenant governor, presided over the ceremony on behalf of Canada’s Governor General, Michaëlle Jean.
About the Author
Jenny deGroot is a freelance media review and news writer for The Banner. She lives on Swallowfield Farm near Fort Langley B.C. with her husband, Dennis. Before retirement she worked as a teacher librarian and assistant principal.
