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Ontario South (Greater Toronto)
![Elderly woman in red is walking and being guided by another woman who is wearing a yellow shirt and olive green pants.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2018-08/009Moncton-2015.jpg?itok=YQnwVw73)
![Six colourful stuffed animal Llamas, created by Jaclyn. The llamas have tactile elements like button eyes.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Jaclyn.Summary.png?itok=vG6_U0_u)
Sewing in the Dark with Jaclyn Pope
Jaclyn Pope is determined to not let COVID-19 railroad her education and professional ambitions as she expands her online business, Sewing in the Dark. When a sewing course at Durham College was cancelled due to the pandemic, Jaclyn, 39, viewed it as an opportunity to reconsider her educational plans.
“I started to think about other things that I could learn that would ultimately help my business and help me achieve my goals,” says Jaclyn. “I realized one of the ways I can promote my business is to have a website, but I didn't want to pay someone to create a website for me. Because I like to have control, I decided to learn how to build my own.”
“I started to think about other things that I could learn that would ultimately help my business and help me achieve my goals,” says Jaclyn. “I realized one of the ways I can promote my business is to have a website, but I didn't want to pay someone to create a website for me. Because I like to have control, I decided to learn how to build my own.”
![A selfie photograph of Tait smiling.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Tait%20Summary_0.png?itok=fgxp5RIH)
Congratulating Tait
“I knew CNIB Scholarships existed, but I never really thought of myself as someone who could get a scholarship because, frankly, my grades are not stellar,” says Tait. “But the scholarship application said they were looking for someone who likes to do things outside the box. It wasn't just about academics and grades, so I took a chance and applied.”
![Susan Creasy smiles for a photograph.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-07/Untitled_1.png?itok=tqYTC6cl)
Meet Susan
Susan Creasy and her family have been part of the Lake Joe journey since the beginning. Her grandfather and great aunt, Wilfred C. James and Elsinore C. Burns, were both members of the Lake Joseph Planning Committee in the early stages of development in the 1960s.
![In 2015, Barb Ennis poses at a ribbon-cutting ceremony when she, as Lions District Governor for A12, purchased a brand new van to enhance client service. This van is now in service at CNIB Lake Joe!](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/News7.png?itok=gmFCP1in)
Lion Barb Ennis: Kindness and Service in Action
Lion Barb Ennis grew up in Toronto close to CNIB's head office, and every day she saw people with white canes and guide dogs travelling to and from CNIB. And every summer, her family went to their cottage in Muskoka where her mom, a relief nurse at CNIB Lake Joe, would take her along.
![Rob Froom (left) standing waterside at Lake Joe with his brother David Froom. Rob is holding his brother's hand.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/LJ%20Picture%202.1.png?itok=rsJDI6QM)
Robert & David Froom: Renewing Relationships at CNIB Lake Joe
Everyone has their own reason for volunteering. I volunteer to repay, in some small way, the enormous debt of gratitude I feel for CNIB: for the services it has provided to my brother David and for the life-changing experiences I have shared with him at CNIB Lake Joe.
![Bruce Roulston posing with a caught fish on a dock beside Eugene Chong at CNIB Lake Joe. They are both wearing life jackets and a ballcap.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Bruce%201._0.jpg?itok=6-iVCj5p)
Meet Bruce Roulston
Lion Bruce Roulston from Hagersville, Ontario, was a farmer for practically his entire life until he lost his vision to Retinitis Pigmentosa.
“I was 53 when I got off the farm because it was too dangerous for me to work. I realized I needed support and that’s when CNIB became a big part of my life,” says Bruce.
“I was 53 when I got off the farm because it was too dangerous for me to work. I realized I needed support and that’s when CNIB became a big part of my life,” says Bruce.
![Alicia smiles and sits outdoors on a large rock. Behind her are trees. She is wearing a summer floral dress. Her white cane rests on the rock to the right of her.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Aclia%20Checnier-Summary.png?itok=P4VC66zd)
How CNIB Lake Joe Inspired a Young Advocate
When Alicia Chenier arrived at CNIB Lake Joe as a 12-year-old, she didn’t have to “hide being blind."
“I used to pretend I wasn’t blind because I was bullied for it. School was tough,” says Alicia.
“I used to pretend I wasn’t blind because I was bullied for it. School was tough,” says Alicia.
![Nancy Simonot wearing a pink cowboy hat and speaking into a microphone at a Lake Joe fundraising event.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Nancy%20Simonot%202.jpeg?itok=LDYmmg1q)
Volunteer with a Vision – Nancy Simonot
For Nancy Simonot, volunteering with CNIB Lake Joe is a family affair. Her journey with CNIB began when her son, Matthew, had a transformational experience as a volunteer counsellor.
![Jim (and his megawatt smile) sits in a Muskoka chair near the shores of CNIB Lake Joe.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Picture3.png?itok=Gj_aKXtu)
Special thanks: Volunteer Jim Tokos, 23+ years of service
Do you remember what you were doing 23 years ago? Were you sitting in a packed movie theatre breathlessly watching Titanic? Humming along to Elton John’s Candle in the Wind? Enjoying the warm winter compliments of El Nino? For Jim Tokos, 1997 was the beginning of a prolific volunteer career at CNIB Lake Joe.
![Emma (left) and Michelle (right) smile and pose for a photo in front of a beautiful green tree.](/sites/default/files/styles/summary_image_content_sm/public/summary-images/2021-06/Family2.png?itok=OXWfySaB)
Meet the Van Dyk family
It was five years ago, right here at CNIB Lake Joe, that my daughter said to me, ‘Mom, I have found my people.' At that moment, I knew that we were going to be okay.