- Awarded on: November 14, 1997
Rose-Anne Cyr-Desbiens, Québec, Quebec
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award
Rose-Anne Cyr-Desbiens has always placed the needs of others ahead of her own. A widow at the age of thirty-eight and mother of sixteen children, she began volunteering with seniors and persons with disabilities in her community of Squatec in Quebec after her children left home. She also launched a home care program for seniors, as well as a Meals-on-Wheels service. Since moving to Québec City, she works as a volunteer at her parish presbytery and pays a weekly visit to a person with speech problems.