The Heart of Bethell Hospice: Volunteers making every moment matter

April 23, 2026 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As Bethell Hospice volunteers, staff, and board members prepare for their annual fundraiser, Hike for Bethell Hospice, there are many dedicated volunteers behind the scenes keeping everything running smoothly.

Bethell Hospice is a residential hospice in Caledon that provides specialized end-of-life care for individuals and support for their families, both at no cost.

It’s thanks to fundraising, their board, staff, and volunteers, that they have been able to continue their work for over a decade now.

During National Volunteer Week, and every week, volunteers at Bethell could be seen working hard in the kitchen or with residents around the hospice.

For many, they’ve been here over a decade, volunteering their time and energy.

Dale Cimolai has been a volunteer at Bethell Hospice for almost 14 years and says it’s a labour of love for her.

Thirteen-and-a-half years ago, she was driving down the road in Inglewood and saw the sign directing to the Hospice. She wondered what it might be, and that very night, they were holding a volunteer information session.

“This is meant to be,” says Cimolai.

Cimolai currently works in resident support, but she also spends time in the kitchen and at reception, and provides complimentary therapies in the house and in the community, helping out in whatever way she can.

Volunteer David Roth, who has been volunteering for almost 15 years since the beginning, mostly spends his time in the kitchen, but, like Cimolai, he often finds himself helping out in various ways around the hospice, such as with residence support and reception.

He also provides in-community support and therapeutic touch.

Thinking about the nearly 15 years he’s spent there, he says he feels “very lucky” to have been at Bethell for that long a period of time.

Mary Ann Bowman has been at the hospice as a volunteer for about five years and was inspired to get involved after losing both her parents within a very short period of time.

“As a family, we experienced some of the frustrations of trying to advocate for my parents as well as we could, whether it be through the medical system or getting services,” says Bowman. “Afterwards I thought there’s got to be a better way, and then that’s where I became aware of hospices.”

An amazing experience it has been, she says, adding that the longer you volunteer, the more things you try.

Bowman began in the kitchen, then moved to resident support, and, similar to her co-volunteers, now works in complementary therapies and also art therapy.

But for these volunteers, they’re not chalking up their hours or counting down the days of volunteering; they say that volunteering at Bethell Hospice is a “gift.”

“I can’t put into words how fulfilling it is to help them make that journey easier for the resident and the family members. I’m supposed to be giving them a gift, but it’s very reciprocal,” says Cimolai.

Thinking back on special moments he’s been able to experience, Roth says he’s received more than he’s given.

“For me, it’s me being selfish, I get a lot,” he says. “I get so much more out than I think I give. The families we meet, the residents here, it’s just absolutely amazing.”

“That’s the magic of volunteering, period,” says Bowman. “You’re supposed to be giving, but you’re actually getting a whole bunch back.”

Because, how fun is it to be able to give someone ice cream with sprinkles for breakfast, Bowman recalls.

Roth says he is always amazed, in meeting their residents and their families, how positive they can be going through this experience. He feels honoured to be able to help even in the smallest of ways.

“It’s so rewarding. Sometimes when the families arrive, they’ve been managing a lot,” says Bowman. “They’re tired, and it’s just so nice to say to them, we’re taking over now. We’ll look after everything. You can go back to being a family member and you can just see them relax.”

She recalls her own experience of once being the person trying to manage everything, not being able to get the services you may have needed beforehand.

“They’re tired and they’ve been working hard to be everything for that person in their life,” adds Cimolai.

“The love and compassion within this house is unbelievable,” says Roth.

The three share that this is not a job for them, and they’re always happy to do whatever residents and their families need.

Although their day-to-day may look completely different from one day to the next, they say it’s the camaraderie among volunteers, staff, and even families and residents.

Often, these volunteers find themselves just sitting by their residents’ bedsides.

Whether it’s reading or just sitting in silence, they say it makes all the difference just being there.

“I love to just sit in the room, read all the cards that are there, talk aloud as if I’m talking to them about the pictures I see, and sing to them,” says Cimolai.

“There’s other days you may have three or four incredibly powerful discussions and really intimate conversations and you go, ‘okay, that’s why we’re here.’” says Bowman. “They’re spontaneous and they’re organic and they just happen. But we’re so glad we’re there for them when that happens.”

Roth says volunteering is a type of calling, where they have so much to offer families and residents.

“People are here because of a passion,” says Bowman, adding that oftentimes, people get stuck in their own lives and in their own routines.

“It adds another dimension to my life that helps me have a better balance and a better perspective on life,” says Bowman.

“Volunteering here puts so much of the rest of my life in perspective. ‘Gosh, am I lucky,’ Roth adds in agreement. “Everything that I have around me, everyone and everything, because you take a look at what people are going through here in the house and if we have a problem, it’s so minute by comparison.”

This year’s National Volunteer Week theme is “Ignite Volunteerism,” a focus on passion, action, and the impact of community service, which is exactly what these volunteers embody in their day-to-day lives in Bethell Hospice.