Barrhead Healthcare Auxiliary

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Barrhead Healthcare Auxiliary

We raise funds and provide hands-on support for both the Barrhead Healthcare Centre and Dr. W. R. Keir Barrhead Continuing Care Centre.

Volunteer-driven since 1929, we raise funds and provide comfort, equipment, and care so Barrhead patients, residents, and families receive healthcare that feels local, personal, and compassionate. About Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary
💙 About Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary
The Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary is a volunteer-driven nonprofit supporting health, dign

ity, and comfort for patients and residents in Barrhead and area. Our goal is simple: to help make healthcare feel more personal, more compassionate, and more community-powered. From specialized medical equipment to new furniture, cozy comfort items, or small facility upgrades that make a big difference—every dollar donated stays local. That means your support goes directly to benefit your neighbours, family members, and friends receiving care right here at home.

✨ What We Support:
Barrhead Healthcare Centre – Medical upgrades, patient tools, family comforts

Barrhead Continuing Care Centre – Resident care, palliative support, home-like amenities

Cancer Clinic & Palliative Rooms – Quality of life enhancements, specialized beds, blanket warmers

Physician Sleep Rooms & Staff Areas – Supporting healthcare providers on-call

Ella’s Garden Courtyard – A peaceful outdoor space for healing and connection

🤝 How You Can Help:
Donate – Big or small, your gift makes a local impact

Volunteer – From gardens to raffles, your time matters

Partner With Us – Community sponsors help us do more

Give in Memory – Honour someone you love with a meaningful tribute

We are always looking for new members, volunteers, donors, and partners who care about healthcare in our region. Whether you contribute once, monthly, or lend your hands to help, you are making a lasting difference.

📍 Proudly serving Barrhead and surrounding communities
💯 100% of donations stay in the community
💙 Supporting care that feels like home

08/04/2026

Are you ready to meet a volunteer who helps keep the wheels turning at Road to Home? ✨

Meet Karen Taylor!

She is the generous soul serving as Violet’s right hand, settling pressing travel worries for cancer patients during challenging times.She proves that you don’t have to expect to do something big to make a difference.”—just a compassionate heart, a willing spirit, and a friendly smile. 💙

Karen is one of the program's very first volunteers. Learning to hear the smile on the other end of the line is one of the quiet rewards she has discovered as Violet Schriever’s backup with Road to Home.

When Violet is away or an extra hand is needed, Karen helps with the calls and arrangements that keep the program moving. She may be working behind the scenes, but she remains close enough to the people Road to Home serves to hear when a laugh slips into the conversation or the unmistakable sound of someone smiling on the other end of the line.

Karen first became aware of Road to Home while she was working at the hospital. The Auxiliary was going through a time of transition, the transportation program was being established, and Karen was asked to serve on the board. Once she understood what the program would offer, her response was characteristically straightforward:
“So I volunteered my services, and Violet took me up on it.”

That answer tells us quite a bit about Karen.

She is generous in both spirit and heart, with the kind of inner strength that allows other people to lean on her when they need it. She is also quick-witted, deeply curious, and genuinely interested in the person in front of her. A conversation with Karen can travel well beyond small talk because she listens carefully, thinks deeply, and brings both integrity and warmth to the exchange.

Road to Home became a continuation of Karen’s years of service and volunteer experience, but it also gave her something new: another opportunity to invest in someone’s life at the very moment support was needed. Helping with one call or one arrangement may appear to be a small act from the outside. Karen understands how much it can mean to the person waiting for an answer.

She also has the privilege of watching people invest in one another. One person answers the phone. A driver agrees to make the trip. A passenger receives the support they need, and a group of people who may never have known one another begins working together around one shared purpose. Karen describes it as “a rich space to be in.”

That richness comes from more than helping organize transportation. It comes from getting to know people, hearing their stories, and recognizing the difference that practical support can make during an already challenging time. Road to Home takes one pressing concern and settles it: the ride to cancer treatment or a cancer-related appointment in Edmonton is arranged.

Karen’s advice to someone considering volunteering is wonderfully direct: “Always say yes first.” A volunteer can always reconsider if an opportunity does not work with their schedule, and the program understands that. Saying yes simply opens the door. On the other side, someone may discover a place that fits so naturally they wonder why they waited—or realize they had been meant for this kind of service all along.

“You will be welcomed with open arms,” Karen said. “You don’t have to have big expectations to make a difference.”

Karen, thank you for being the person Violet can depend on when Road to Home needs backup. Thank you for bringing your remarkable kindness, quick mind, generous heart, and quiet strength to every call you answer. Most of all, thank you for investing so genuinely in the people behind those voices—and for always listening closely enough to hear the smile. 💙

Road to Home transportation is provided specifically for cancer treatment and cancer-related appointments in Edmonton. To learn more about the program or ask about volunteering, contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.

Small Town. Big Hearts. Listen closely. Hear the smile! 💙

08/03/2026

Did you see this story in the Town & Country News this morning?

When Gus Pratt of Onoway began thinking about his eighth birthday, he had a plan. He would have a big party—but instead of presents, he would ask his friends and family to help him raise money for the Barrhead Community Cancer Centre.

Gus chose the Barrhead Community Cancer Centre in appreciation for the care his mom, Brittany, received there. He wanted the money he raised to stay in Barrhead and help support the place that had become so important to his family.

His birthday party brought in approximately $680. Then his mom shared what he was doing on social media, more donations arrived, and Gus watched his big idea grow all the way to $1,000.

“When I found out that I got $1,000, I freaked out,” he told the Town & Country News.

And there is one more lovely piece to Gus’s story: his birthday is July 28—the same day as Terry Fox’s birthday.

Those of us who work with donations know there is always a story behind the amount written on a cheque. This one began with an eight-year-old who wanted his birthday to help someone else.

Congratulations, Gus. You set an ambitious goal, reached it, and turned your eighth birthday into a $1,000 gift for cancer care in Barrhead. That is quite an achievement.

Small Town. Big Hearts. Eight candles, one big wish—and Gus made it happen.

07/31/2026

Something unexpected is growing among the flowers at Keir Care.

The planters in the courtyard and conservatory bring together familiar summer colour with a few surprises. Peas climb beside petunias, carrot tops appear among the greenery, sunflowers reach upward, and several ambitious stalks of corn are making the most of the Alberta sunshine.

The story behind them begins with a former Keir Care resident and the daughter who continues to honour that connection.

Her father was once cared for at Keir Care. Today, she travels from Ponoka to contribute her time and gardening experience, working alongside residents on their planting projects in both the conservatory and the courtyard.

Her commitment has continued well beyond her father’s time there. With every journey to Barrhead, she helps residents shape gardens they can tend, watch and enjoy as the season unfolds. Flowers open, vegetables take shape, and each visit to the planters offers something new to discover.

Travelling that distance and contributing the work needed to bring these projects together is a generous gift of time, skill and continuing care. Although she remains unnamed here, her contribution deserves heartfelt recognition and applause.

The results can be seen throughout the courtyard: a colourful, imaginative growing space—and one particularly important summer question.

Just how tall does that corn intend to grow? 🌻🌽

Small Town. Big Hearts. A connection that keeps growing.

07/30/2026

A Familiar Name Along the Road

Meet Road to Home volunteer driver Steve Lyster

Long before Steve Lyster joined Road to Home, he was already one of the people helping keep community life buoyant. Over the years, Steve and his wife, Rita, have supported fundraisers, hosted suppers and stepped forward for the work behind local organizations and events. Volunteering is simply part of how Steve participates in his community.

When retirement opened more room in his schedule, Steve began thinking about where he could be useful next. He enjoys driving, enjoys visiting with people and had known Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever for years. Rather than waiting to be asked, he approached Violet and threw his hat in.

Road to Home felt like the right fit.

“It’s a do-good program,” Steve said. “You are giving back to people and reaching out when someone needs it.”

The driving gave Steve a practical way to help rural cancer patients reach treatment and cancer-related appointments in Edmonton. What he had not anticipated was how much he would discover along the way.

A conversation may begin with two people who have never met. As the kilometres pass, Steve hears about a passenger’s family, hometown or a piece of the region’s history he never knew. Then someone mentions a name.

And there it is—the connection.

One familiar name leads to a shared place, a remembered family or a story that reaches from one community into another. The person Steve had never met before that morning turns out to be connected through the same people and places that have shaped life throughout this region.

That is rural Alberta for you. A town may have its own name on the map, but neighbour still reaches well beyond its boundaries.

Steve also hears something else, trip after trip: gratitude. Cancer creates an already challenging and overwhelming time, and travelling into Edmonton adds another layer of planning, stress and strain. Knowing Road to Home is available means one important part of the day has already been taken care of.

For a little while, the passenger can settle into the seat and take a breath. Someone dependable is handling the traffic, the distance and the journey home. Steve has seen how much that moment can matter.

Steve, thank you for throwing your hat into Road to Home and bringing your generous community spirit along with it. Thank you for every safe journey, every good visit and every familiar name discovered somewhere between home and Edmonton. The Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary is proud to recognize you—and grateful that you found one more way to help keep our wider community buoyant. 💙

To learn more about the program or ask about becoming a driver, contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.

Small Town. Big Hearts.
Town to town. Neighbour to neighbour. 💙

07/29/2026

Bill was at the grill, burgers were sizzling, and the tables beneath Keir Care’s umbrellas were ready for company.

For the third year, the Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary provided the funds for the lunch, while Keir Care organized it to fit its staff schedules and preferences. Burgers, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, chocolate cupcakes and beverages were on the menu.

The one-hour lunch gave staff an opportunity to pick up a plate as their work allowed. Bill and Melody took care of the cooking and arrangements, with the Auxiliary pleased to continue supporting this annual gesture of appreciation.

Lunch was courtesy of the Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary—with thanks to the staff of Keir Care for the work they do each day. 💙

A second appreciation lunch will also be provided for Barrhead Healthcare Centre staff.

Small Town. Big Hearts. Serving up appreciation. 🍔💙

07/29/2026

The Kindness That Stayed With Him

Meet Jim Imes - Road To Home Volunteer Driver

Jim Imes was on the road when I called. He pulled over, then took the call. From the moment we began talking, he gave Road to Home—and the people who depend on it—his full attention. By the end of our conversation, that first glimpse of Jim felt exactly right. When the reason matters, Jim is all in.

And for Jim, this reason is deeply personal.

“My wife died at 49 from breast cancer,” he shared. “So many people supported me at that time. It made a difference and stayed with me.”

You could hear that it had. His wife’s illness and death were a cornerstone time in Jim’s life, and he has never forgotten the people who stepped forward to help them through it. Their support changed how Jim experienced those difficult days. Years later, some of that care has found its way into the passenger seat beside him.

As a Road to Home volunteer driver, Jim helps people travel into Edmonton for cancer treatment and cancer-related appointments. The practical part is straightforward: arrive, make the drive and bring someone safely home again. Yet every passenger reminds him that there is far more travelling with them than an appointment time.

“No matter who I drive and at what age, they all have the same strong desire to beat cancer,” Jim said. “They are focused and determined. This is another hurdle in their life, and they will overcome it.”

That determination is what Jim sees from behind the wheel. His passengers may be young or older, quiet or ready for conversation, but each has a life they are fighting to return to. Cancer may have placed another hurdle in front of them; it has not taken away their focus on what lies beyond it.

One passenger once put into words just how much Road to Home meant amid everything they were facing. The personal details belong to that passenger, but what Jim carried away from the conversation belongs in this story: people travel to treatment holding tightly to the people they love, the life waiting for them and their own powerful reasons to keep going.

A volunteer driver cannot remove the hurdle. What Jim can do is make sure that getting to cancer care does not become another one. He can meet a passenger at the door, take responsibility for the road ahead and give them one less concern to carry that day.

Jim calls Road to Home “a very good cause” and says the experience is “extremely rewarding.” No matter whom he drives, he finds that people recognize the help and are grateful for the difference it makes in their cancer journey. Those words carry special meaning from someone who remembers exactly what it feels like when people show up during one of life’s hardest times.

Jim, thank you for remembering the support once given to you—and choosing to give it a new direction. Thank you for every careful mile, every conversation and every passenger who has been able to concentrate on their journey because you were concentrating on the road. The Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary is proud to recognize you and deeply grateful for the compassion, responsibility and understanding you bring to Road to Home. 💙

Road to Home transportation is provided specifically for cancer treatment and cancer-related appointments in Edmonton. To learn more about the program or ask about becoming a volunteer driver, contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.

Small Town. Big Hearts.
Some kindness stays with us until it is our turn to carry it. 💙

07/28/2026

“It Is the Best Thing I Have Done to Help People”
Road to Home Volunteer Driver Appreciation — Brian Steffes

The road into Edmonton leaves plenty of room for conversation. That suits Brian Steffes just fine.

Brian became a Road to Home volunteer driver for one clear reason:

“To help people with cancer.”

The answer is simple because, to Brian, the purpose is simple. A person needs to reach cancer treatment or an appointment in Edmonton. He can drive. So he does.

Yet the kilometres have brought something Brian values too. He enjoys meeting the people who travel with him—the different personalities, experiences and conversations that make every trip its own story. A passenger may begin the day needing a ride, but the time between Barrhead and Edmonton becomes something shared.

Brian’s description of what this volunteer work has meant to him carries the same wonderful certainty as his reason for beginning.

“It is amazing,” he said. “It is the best thing I have done to help people.”

That may be one of the quiet gifts within Road to Home. The driver offers time, a steady presence and a safe journey. In return, the road introduces them to people they might otherwise never have known—and reminds them just how much a practical act of kindness can matter.

Brian, thank you for every trip you have accepted and every person you have welcomed into the passenger seat. Thank you for turning your wish to help people with cancer into real miles travelled, appointments reached and journeys home. The Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary is proud to recognize your contribution and very grateful that you chose Road to Home as your way to help. 💙

There may be someone else in our community who can drive, enjoys meeting people and has been wondering how they could make a meaningful difference.

Brian has already given them the best possible recommendation:

“It is amazing.”

Road to Home welcomes volunteer drivers from Barrhead and surrounding communities. Drivers choose the trips that work with their availability while helping rural cancer patients travel safely to treatment and appointments in Edmonton.

To learn more about the program or ask about becoming a volunteer driver, contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.

Small Town. Big Hearts.
Sometimes helping begins with a set of keys. 💙

07/27/2026

Dr. Bose’s Legacy — Part 2
When a Gift Becomes a Way Home

For a rural cancer patient, getting the care they need can begin long before they reach the clinic door.

There is the appointment in Edmonton—and then there is the question of how to get there. Who can drive? What will the trip cost? And how will they get home when treatment has left them tired or too ill?

Dr. Bireswar Bose’s final gift helped create a practical answer.

Following his passing in 2018, part of the gift Dr. Bose left through his estate was intended to improve life for cancer patients in Barrhead and the surrounding area. One way was transportation to city treatment appointments for rural cancer patients.

Road to Home helps patients from Barrhead and surrounding communities travel into Edmonton for cancer treatment and appointments. For some people, transportation had been a significant barrier. They may not have someone available to drive them, or the cost of repeated trips placed added pressure on an already difficult time.

Road to Home places a volunteer driver behind the wheel and gives the patient one less thing to carry.

This is where Dr. Bose’s legacy becomes something a patient can see and feel.

It becomes a vehicle pulling into someone’s driveway. A friendly person in the driver’s seat. A safe journey into Edmonton—and another safe journey home.

Dr. Bose devoted more than three decades of his medical career to Barrhead. Years after his retirement and passing, his care is still travelling the roads of rural Alberta.

And bringing people home again. 💙

To learn more about the program or ask about becoming a volunteer driver, contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.

Small Town. Big Hearts.
The road is part of the care.

07/24/2026

She Knows What the Journey Means

Meet Alice Schmaus — Road to Home Volunteer Driver

Alice Schmaus has found a volunteer role that suits her rather nicely: she gets in the car, picks up a passenger, and the two of them talk their way down the road.

“I enjoy it,” Alice says. “You talk and drive at the same time.”

Alice is a cancer survivor and wanted to support the Barrhead Cancer Centre. Road to Home gave her “something to help along the way”—a worthwhile contribution that isn’t too strenuous and fits comfortably into her life.

Her drives have taken her beyond Barrhead to pick up patients in communities such as Mayerthorpe and Athabasca. The distances may change, but Alice approaches each trip in much the same way: settle in, enjoy the company and keep the car pointed toward the appointment.

That easy conversation helps pass the kilometres for both driver and passenger. Sometimes the talk flows all the way there; sometimes it simply feels good to have another person along for the drive.

Alice describes her experience with Road to Home as a good one. She enjoys the trips, the people she meets and the opportunity to do something practical in support of cancer care.

She is also “very grateful for the program and the support they give to the patients.”

There is something wonderfully straightforward about Alice’s approach to volunteering. She saw something she could do, found that it worked well for her and began helping people from Barrhead and surrounding communities reach their cancer appointments.

One drive at a time, Alice is giving patients one less arrangement to make and one more friendly person beside them for the journey. There may even be some good conversation along the way.

Alice, thank you for the time you give, the distances you travel and the friendly company you bring to every trip. Road to Home is fortunate to have you behind the wheel. 💙

Interested in becoming a Road to Home volunteer driver? Contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152 to learn more.

Small Town. Big Hearts.
Good company makes the road feel shorter. 💙

07/23/2026

Meet Allan Visser — Road to Home Volunteer Driver

Long before Allan Visser became Road to Home’s newest volunteer driver, he made his friend Violet a promise: when he retired, he would start driving for the program.

Retirement has arrived—and Allan has kept his word.

That willingness to step forward is hardly new. Allan has always believed in volunteering and giving back in whatever way a person can. Some people may also remember that he once coached hockey, another role that called for time, patience and a genuine interest in helping others. 😊

“I’ve always had the attitude that it is good to give back to our community in whatever aspect you can,” Allan says. “If I can benefit my community and the people within it, then I will lend a hand.”

After a career as a bus driver, Allan knew exactly what he could contribute. He was comfortable behind the wheel, had the experience, and saw Road to Home as a practical way to put those skills to work for people receiving cancer care.

For Allan, one of the strengths of volunteering as a Road to Home driver is how naturally it can fit into his life. He can accept the trips that work with his schedule, knowing that when he is unavailable, another member of the driving team may be able to take the journey that day.

That shared responsibility allows each volunteer to contribute as they are able. No single driver has to be available for every request, yet together they help provide something patients can depend upon: safe transportation, reassuring company and someone else to take responsibility for the road.

When asked how he would encourage someone considering becoming a volunteer driver, Allan’s enthusiasm came through immediately.

“It’s a great cause,” he says. “You are making an outstanding contribution to others and to our community. The people you work and volunteer with are fantastic, and those you are supporting appreciate the service tremendously. It takes so much off their minds.”

That sounds very much like Allan—open, friendly and ready to lend a hand. He recognizes that a volunteer drive may fit quite simply into his own day while making a substantial difference in someone else’s. For a person already managing appointments, treatment and the physical and emotional demands of cancer care, knowing the transportation is handled can bring real relief.

Allan, first, congratulations on a successful career—and on what is already shaping up to be an even more successful retirement. Thank you for keeping your promise to Violet, bringing your years of driving experience to Road to Home and continuing to find ways to benefit the people around you. We are very glad to welcome you to the driving team.

Interested in becoming a Road to Home volunteer driver? Contact Trip Coordinator Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152 to learn more.

Small Town. Big Hearts.
A promise kept—and a new way to give back. 💙

Address

4815 51 Avenue
Barrhead, AB
T7N1L3

Website

http://barrheadauxiliary.com/

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