A caring voice raised in song is always welcome, and it can be a special gift for someone in hospice or hospital.
The Bedside Singers have been sharing their voices with patients at Victoria Hospice since 2007, and have begun visiting a ward at the new Royal Jubilee Hospital patient tower.
Marnie Lamb, who started the group when she worked as a hospice volunteer, said the dozen singers range from their late 30s to 70s. "There's quite extensive training, so it takes someone who's really dedicated.
"We think we make a really nice difference for the patients. Often patients will fall asleep while we're singing, which is perfect. We're not entertainers, we're there to kind of cradle them with the songs.
"We can stay as little as five minutes if they just want one song, otherwise we can spend up to 20 to 25 minutes."
Families and friends visiting their loved ones often sing along.
The Bedside Singers work in pairs.
"People that we're singing for are quite sick, and we've done a lot of workshopping around it and we realized that two is perfect," Lamb said.
The singers work from a basic list of about 35 songs, and offer a binder of familiar titles for patients to look at.
The group is hosting a Wednesday information session from 7 to 8: 30 p.m. Meet in the portable directly behind Fairfield Community Place at 1330 Fairfield Rd.
Lamb would like to hear from people planning to attend in order to get an idea of numbers. Call 250-385-1983 or go to bedsidesingers.ca. The next Bedside Singers training program starts in September.
LIPDUB CRAZE HITS VICTORIA HIGH
Vic High believes. The proof is on YouTube, where the school has posted a "lipdub" - a group lipsynching effort - performed to the sounds of Cher's Believe.
Victoria High School tapped into the lipdub phenomenon to bring people together, have fun and get creative in a common cause. Nearly all the 800 students joined their teachers in making the video.
Jugglers, bubble-blowers and even a replica of the talking plant from Little Shop of Horrors are all part of the four-minute, 40second video, which winds down hallways and up stairs before finishing in the school auditorium.
When teacher Jim Pine presented the idea to his media-literacy class, students were eager to get involved.
"It took us two weeks to figure out the song," Pine said. "Once we got that, we began thinking about some of the things that we would like to showcase about Vic High."
Filming took about 25 minutes. Part of the plan was for everyone to rush to the auditorium once the camera had passed, making for a rousing final shot of the students and staff celebrating in one spot.
Vic High's lipdub follows one by Claremont Secondary. The Claremont video, to the backdrop of The Time (Dirty Bit) by the Black Eyed Peas, is an equally inventive visual smorgasbord, with everything from woodworking to lacrosse players pumping iron.
For Vic High's video, click here and Claremont, here.
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR MURAL EXPANSION
The mural project adorning Ogden Point breakwater will rely on donations to see it through to completion over the next three years.
The second phase of the Land and Sea Mural, also dubbed the Unity Wall, was unveiled last week. Treated plywood panels, which project supporters hope will last 50 years, now cover a portion of the inner wall of the breakwater but will eventually line both sides.
Butch Dick, one of the main artists, said the idea is to showcase Coast Salish art and history.
A key part of the second phase is a blessing written in the Lekwungen language. It translates as: "Blessed is the spot. Blessed is the house. And the place. Blessed the city. Blessed is the heart and the mountain. Blessed is the refuge. And the cave. Blessed is the sea. And the Island. Blessed is the meadow. Where mention of God has been made."
Donations to the project are being organized through the Ogden Point Enhancement Society. Call 250-383-8300 (ext. 225) or go to theunitywall.ca.
STUDENTS LEARN THAT IT'S GOOD TO GIVE
You're never too young to be a philanthropist. Students from seven high schools proved that by taking part in the seventh year of the Victoria Foundation's Youth in Philanthropy program and allocating $17,500 to charities. The allocations were based on research into local charities, aimed at helping the students to become more active members of the community.
Each school had $2,500 to disburse. The grants chosen were:
- Belmont Secondary - $1,000 to the Child Abuse Prevention and Counselling Society of Greater Victoria (Mary Manning Centre), $1,500 to Young Parents Support Network.
- Frances Kelsey Secondary - $800 to Cowichan Valley Hospice Society, $800 to Cowichan Women Against Violence Society (Somenos Transition House), $900 to Canadian Mental Health Association.
- Oak Bay Secondary - $750 to Power To Be Adventure Therapy Society, $1,000 to Child Abuse Prevention and Counselling Society of Greater Victoria (Mary Manning Centre), $750 to Friends of Living and Learning Through Loss.
- Reynolds Secondary - $2,500 to Victoria READ Society
- St. Michaels University School - $750 to Community Living Victoria, $750 to Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children, $1,000 to Anawim Companions Society (Anawim House).
- Stelly's Secondary - $500 to Youthspace.ca (Peninsula Marketing), $2,000 to Sidney Lions Food Bank for a new walk-in freezer.
- Victoria High School - $750 to SPCA (Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre), $1,000 to Victoria Cool Aid Society, $750 to Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Centre.
CANARY DERBY ALL READY FOR TAKEOFF
The Canary Derby takes flight for a sixth year on Saturday at the Vancouver Island Technology Park. The derby is a soapboxinspired racing event that brings the local technology community together to support the sa国际传媒 Cancer Foundation and the Canary Foundation of sa国际传媒 - a group dedicated to early-detection cancer research. Go to canaryderby.com/victoria.
