To Leila (Stoddart) Lloyd, being a volunteer is all about being part of a team.
Whether it’s working with Edgar, her husband of over 60 years, or working with “The Jewels” – the group of volunteers at St. John’s Presbyterian Church who serve in the kitchen – it’s all about teamwork.
It was something that she learned at an early age growing up in West Gwillimbury Township, from her mother.
“My mom was involved in the community,” Leila said. She was especially active in the Bond Head United Church, and Leila had her first taste of volunteering as a young helper, clearing the tables.
“I was raised with the strawberry suppers,” she said.
In addition to church, Leila was “very involved” in Girl Guides, advancing to a level just below Gold Cord, and in 4-H, an organization that offered hands-on opportunities for rural youth.
“Mom encouraged me to take all of those courses,” Leila noted.
The motto of 4-H is “Learn to do by doing,” something that has always been part of her life. An educator for 40 years, a teacher at Sir William Osler Public School, she imbued her students with the concepts of hands-on learning, and stepping up to serve the community.
“Many, many years ago, Robert Schuller, a great preacher, said as a slogan, ‘Find a need and fill it.’ That always inspired me,” Leila said, and she has always been grateful for “having the privilege of teaching in the community, and the wonderful, wonderful families.”
As she raised her own family, Leila continued to be engaged in both 4-H and Guides, becoming a Guider in Bradford for several years.
She has also been a member of the BWG Local History Association, and other cultural and historical groups in the community; and a driving force in the Bond Head Women’s Institute, whose motto “For Home and Country” also sums up her volunteer activity and dedication to ‘giving back.’
It was Leila and a teaching partner who first introduced the Thanksgiving Dinner at Sir William Osler P.S. – a dinner that engaged students, staff and parents in preparing a full meal for the school community, with Turkey and all the trimmings. Now renamed a “Harvest Dinner”, the tradition has continued, and spread to another rural school, Hon. Earl Rowe P.S.
Over the years, both Leila and Edgar - both with deep roots in the community, as descendants of pioneering families - have played an important role in community fundraisers, especially for St. John’s Presbyterian Church.
“There’s not many of these denominational churches that are self-sufficient on tithing,” Leila explained; the fundraisers play a significant role in helping to pay the bills and keep the lights on.
It’s at St. John’s that her talent for organization has found greatest expression, assisting at the Helping Hand Food Bank, helping at the Canadian Blood Services Blood drives, contributing to the community meals and a Women’s Bible Study Group, and helping in the kitchen, with Roast Beef Dinners and luncheons for funerals, anniversaries and wedding receptions.
But she rejects the idea that she is a leader.
“I think of it as a team,” Leila said. Her role is to encourage others to do their part, and step in when needed.
Her approach is to ask, and engage others – “If so and so was asked, perhaps they would try...”– very much like her role as an educator.
“To me, it’s all team,” she said, noting that people are often eager to help out, but may not know how to get involved.
Her advice? “You just show up… If people want to come and help, they are welcome.”
That has been true even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many volunteer activities have had to be suspended. Now that churches are cautiously reopening, and the size of gatherings for special events has increased, the St. John’s team is meeting again, to figure out ways to provide for the community while maintaining public safety and security.
At every step – in the kitchen at St. John’s, at the BWG Local History Association and its events, even at Women’s Institute –Edgar has been at her side, providing support and ready to step in to meet the need, whatever it might be.
“It doesn’t matter what – he is right there,” Leila said, which is why the Lloyds were presented with the 2020 BWG Civic Award for Citizens of the Year, on Canada Day.
Leila noted that her generation was brought up with a different concept of service to the community.
When she was first teaching, the focus in Ontario’s education system could be summed up by John F. Kennedy’s famous exhortation, to “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
That all changed in the 1980s, when the focus in education system shifted to the individual, and community and service took a back seat.
Under that model, “’Me’ is the most important thing,” Leila said, which left little room for sacrifice or service to others.
That’s shifting again, with Character Education and inclusion in schools – but it has always been easy to get involved in the community, she said. Just find an interest, and give it a try.
“Anybody can try anything. I like to see people try three times, before making a decision. Give it a chance. If there’s something you think you might like to do, give it chance.”
Learn to do by doing, and think about service For Home and Country.
Leila summed up, “I think you can be proud of yourself, but for what you do for others.”
