THUNDER BAY -- Since Jessica Lachance was a young girl she's dedicated her life to putting the needs of others before hers.
Every Friday Lachance volunteers an entire day by helping the community and offering her free time at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s chemotherapy unit and the Dew Drop Inn.
She spends the morning at the hospital delivering refreshments to those receiving treatments and the afternoon is spent doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen and dining room at the Dew Drop Inn after the rush of people come through for their hot meal.
“I feel like if there’s something I can do to make people’s lives a little bit easier than why wouldn’t I want to do that,” Lachance said.
“Helping people is something I don’t question, it’s something that I have always wanted to do ever since I was younger.”
The 22-year-old said she would want somebody to help her in a time of need, so it’s always been instinctual for her to help.
Ever since she can remember she’s always put other people before herself and that’s all she has ever wanted to do.
“There’s no real reason for wanting to help people but I’ve always loved providing that extra hand and I hope my story inspires other people to do the same,” she said.
“It really takes nothing to go out for a couple of hours every week and help the people in need.”
Lachance wants to remind the community there are many volunteering opportunities whether it’s working with animals, children, people or patients.
There are always many chances in the community to help better people’s lives.
“It’s so easy to make a difference and I feel like if people all got together and worked hard and got involved in volunteering the world would be a better place.”
After graduating from psychology in April she hopes to be working in the healthcare field soon.
She said she is optimistic her volunteer experience over the past few years will help her become a good health care provider.
“Having the experience working in the field should give me a better insight into the emotional supports patients need,” Lachance said.
Lachance added that it’s important for her to genuinely care for and understand the people she’s treating.
The recent graduate intends on using some of the money to help one of the organizations where she currently volunteers.
These organizations are largely donation based and they don’t have a lot of resources coming through, so it would help them a lot.
“A lot of things couldn’t happen without volunteers,” she said.
“These organizations wouldn’t exist and these people wouldn’t have access to the resources they need, so it’s essential for the wellbeing of the community.”
Lachance’s mother Lisa believes her daughter is truly an amazing person.
“There’s not a lot of people that would take their day off, especially at her age,” Lisa said.
“She gets up at 7 a.m. Friday morning and she’s out the door, comes home to grab a quick bite to eat and heads back out to the Drew Drop Inn, it’s beautiful.”
Lisa added that it’s heartwarming to know how caring her daughter is with other people.
“She’s honestly just such a caring person, she’s there for anybody that needs her and she will drop everything and go.”
