Pedalling Hope: Dee Dee’s Journey of Volunteerism at RHCF

After his triple bypass and heart valve replacement in 2006, Dee Dee Budgell-Short’s husband suffered a massive stroke. This was when he first went to Riverview Health Centre where he was told he had a year to live.

He lived another 11 years. In 2017, he went back to Riverview, where he spent his last days.

 “When he passed I vowed to work as a volunteer for WRHA and Riverview,” says Dee Dee.

Dee Dee has been a board member for Riverview Health Centre Foundation for several years now.

“I have always volunteered in some way or another,” says Dee Dee. “It’s a selfish act as it brings much self-satisfaction. There have been periods of my early life when I had help and I vowed that if I was ever given the opportunity, I would give back.”

Dee Dee is the co-chair for Cycle on Life. She has cycled with her team, the Budgell Bikers, since 2018.

“Cycle on Life brings awareness on what Riverview is and what services are offered,” says Dee Dee. “It’s a time for people to come together to have fun, ride with friends and visit the health centre.”

With help from Councillor Matt Allard, the team raised enough funds to purchase a wheelchair-accessible bike for Riverview. The team was honoured at the Legislature in 2019 for this deed.

Dee Dee is grateful to Riverview for how they supported her husband, and she hopes to honour his legacy through volunteering.

“My late husband always supported any endeavour I was interested in,” says Dee Dee, “and he always told me to be part of the solution, and how satisfying it was when changes were enacted or solutions were found.”

Dee Dee is proud of the work that the staff at River Health Centre and the Foundation do, and she is appreciative of all the riders and donors that make Cycle on Life a huge success.