The giving journey

Vikkie Gibson, a long-time St. Joseph’s volunteer, care partner and donor, knows her way around the health care system – and around the halls of Parkwood.

She spent her career as a nurse in various clinical roles, including caring for patients receiving hemodialysis and cancer care. Her favourite part of nursing was developing close relationships with people throughout their treatment and celebrating good news with them and their loved ones.

That appreciation for community played a large part in her decision to get involved with St. Joseph’s during the last decade. In 2018, her late husband Rod received inpatient and outpatient care in the stroke rehabilitation program at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Parkwood Institute.

“The care that he received at the stroke rehabilitation unit was unbelievable and the staff was amazing,” Gibson shares. “They gave me my husband back for a few more years.”

After Rod passed, she started making regular donations to St. Joseph’s stroke rehabilitation program to honour his memory. She also donates throughout the year to other care areas like the Veterans Care Program and campaigns including Season of Celebration every Christmas.

It’s important for her to give to initiatives at St. Joseph’s where she knows her gifts will make an impact. “The Foundation is very good at letting you know where there are areas of immediate need,” she says. “That’s so helpful to me as a donor.”  

Volunteers are priceless

But her generosity doesn’t stop there. Now retired, Gibson is also sharing her time, skills and heart with the organization as a volunteer and care partner.

Her volunteer roles are all rewarding in their own way. These days she can be found manning the information desk at the Parkwood Institute main entrance on Fridays, having Monday morning coffee visits with residents in the Veterans Care Program and lending a helping hand during special events for the veterans.

As a care partner, Gibson has had several meaningful opportunities to lend her unique perspective as a caregiver. She’s been embedded in projects to introduce artificial intelligence into care, sits on the steering committee for the Nourish Garden, supported the Quality and Safety committee and has participated in several hiring panels for hospital leadership.

It’s no coincidence that most of her contributions take place at Parkwood. It’s a place that holds a special place in her heart, not only because her husband received care there. “The feeling you get when you walk into Parkwood is something you can't explain,” she shares. “There's a sense of calmness and peace, and that’s reflected in the caring nature of all of the staff.”

For Gibson, making donations and volunteering fulfills a need to be useful and helpful to others that’s even more important in her retirement. It’s also a way to connect with people from all walks of life and a reminder of her career in nursing.

“It gives you insight into some of the trials and tribulations that people go through in their life,” she says. When she provides directions to people entering Parkwood for the first time, she’s proud to make a challenging situation a little easier for them. “Being able to help somebody find their way through is very rewarding.”

Living the values

In 2024, Gibson was shocked to be the recipient of a Sisters of St. Joseph’s Award. These annual awards are given to St. Joseph’s employees or volunteers who exemplify the values of the Sisters who founded the hospital, including compassion, empathy and sincerity.

“I had no idea it was coming, and it was such an honour,” Gibson says. “People kept coming to me and saying, ‘thank you for all you do’. And that’s not why you do it. But when it happened, it felt like I was accomplishing what I was hoping for.”