• Awarded on: November 24, 2004

Margaret Finley, Ottawa, Ontario
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award


Margaret Finley had her first experience of volunteering when, at the age of 17, she helped in the nursery at a mission camp. A thoughtful visionary and a superb organizer, she later found countless ways to help those in need. In the 1960s, she rallied volunteers and organized picnics for homebound disabled persons; and the "High Horizon" program she founded in 1965 at her church is still running to this day, offering transportation and activities for physically challenged members of her community. She also cared for dying patients at the Riverside Hospital, volunteered in schools, has been active in the Kidney Foundation and the Parkinson's Society, and continues to raise funds for charitable organizations.