Chad Sutherland (second from right) receives an Ontario Volunteer Service Award from MPPs Lisa Gretzky, Anthony Leardi (second from left) and Andrew Dowie (far right) (photo courtesy of Chad Sutherland)
By Kate Hargreaves
For kinesiology professor Chad Sutherland, the phrase “volunteer work” is a misnomer.
“I don’t really view it as work,” he says.
“I view it as something everyone should be doing: getting involved and helping in the things that you love to do, whether that’s bringing expertise to an area or offering an extra set of hands. It’s all important, and we need it more than ever right now.”
Prof. Sutherland, director of operations and sport performance at the Centre for Human Performance and Health (CHPH), was recognized last month for a decade of volunteerism at the Ontario Volunteer Service Awards.
The awards recognize volunteers across the province at local ceremonies each year, with recognitions for service from five to 65 years of continuous volunteering.
Sutherland was nominated for a ten-year award by Community Living Essex County (CLEC), where he has volunteered for 11 years, including as a board member and now board chair.
Founded in 1961, Community Living Essex County is a non-profit and registered charitable organization that assists individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families across the county.
Sutherland’s involvement with the organization ranges from employment support committees to exercise and well-being programming.
He has helped build a strong collaboration between Community Living Essex County and the University of Windsor through the Adapted Physical Exercise (APEX) research program in which he participates alongside kinesiology colleagues as part of the CHPH.
APEX supports people with intellectual disabilities and autism through physical activity, helping build fitness, motor skills and safe exercise technique.
“It’s so important that we have these community partners involved to support community programs in our research,” says Sutherland.
During the recognition ceremony, which took place at the Ciociaro Club, members of provincial parliament Andrew Dowie, Lisa Gretzky and Anthony Leardi awarded volunteers from a variety of organizations across the region.
“A lot of organizations rely on community volunteers, and it gives opportunities for people in our community to access resources or programming they wouldn’t necessarily have access to without it,” Sutherland says, noting the breadth of organizations with volunteers who were recognized at the ceremony.
“It’s hugely important.”
He credits the influence of his parents for encouraging him to embrace volunteering from a young age.
“I was fortunate to have parents who were volunteers, and with that mentorship and watching them do the important work, it’s something they passed down to me,” Sutherland says.
This importance is something that Sutherland also emphasizes to his students.
“A lot of our community programs that we offer here in kinesiology would not be able to run if we didn’t have the amazing student volunteers that we have,” he explains.
“If we are asking students to volunteer, I think it’s only right that we lead by example and are out there volunteering ourselves.”
Sutherland plans to stay involved with Community Living Essex County going forward, both on their board of directors and helping at various events as well as volunteering with other community organizations.
“I feel very fortunate working at the University of Windsor where community engagement is so important,” he says.
“I get to engage with the community through work, which builds these strong relationships.”
For more information on the Centre for Human Performance and Health, including APEX, visit the Faculty of Human Kinetics website.
To learn about Community Living Essex County or get involved with the organization and their events, visit their website.