03/05/2026
A heart of gold, helping hands, and a trot around the globe.
None of the work we do at St. Patrick’s Home of Ottawa would be possible without the dedication, love, and hard work of our volunteers. In this series, we’ll be introducing you to some of the incredible individuals who help make our Home the place it is today.
Lisa is among the exceptional volunteers we have at the Home and like everyone else here, her story is quite remarkable. She grew up with a free spirit, running through fields with her dogs and teaching herself to hurdle cedar rails in the countryside outside of Guelph. That love for adventure and exploration stayed with her and continued to grow throughout her life. After high school, she studied computers in college, but still younger than her classmates she did not feel quite ready for the workforce and continued on to study nutrition at the University of Guelph.
After graduating, she worked a mix of jobs, from corporate roles in Toronto to returning to school for part time studies, all while teaching fitness classes, offering nutrition counselling, working at a bar, and volunteering with her school’s First Response Team. What might overwhelm most people was, for Lisa, the perfect way to explore every passion at once.
Volunteering with the First Response Team is where she met her husband, Mike, and soon they were off to New Hampshire while he trained as a paramedic. There, in a place she now considers a second home alongside Ottawa, they welcomed their daughter Madi, a dedicated St. Pat’s volunteer herself.
One day, Mike handed Lisa a pamphlet “featuring a man hanging off a rock above a beautiful blue ocean” as described by Lisa, and asked, “What do you think about going to Tasmania?” Once she realized he meant the little island beneath mainland Australia, off they went to start a new life in the Land Down Under. Their shared sense of adventure was nurtured there, through wilderness, hikes, and the salty breeze of the ocean. During this time Lisa sang with a gospel choir and reconnected with a passion she’d carried since childhood.
Eventually, they made their way back to Ottawa, where life is as busy as ever. Lisa volunteers with Meals on Wheels, sings in the Big Soul Project, runs a Glee Club for young adults with exceptionalities, quilts and crochets, and volunteers at St. Pat’s in Paddy’s Place. She and Madi, two peas in a pod, are known for bringing smiles to residents, staff, families, and fellow volunteers. Every week, they can be found connecting with everyone in the Home, serving sweet treats and coffee, and bringing warmth to every corner they touch.
When asked why others should volunteer at St. Pat’s Lisa said “You’re really making a difference in someone’s life who is more vulnerable, perhaps doesn’t have that other family support, you can be more than just a volunteer to somebody. And you can go home and feel good about it.”
The dedicated group of volunteers at Paddy’s Place, came to be when Lisa was volunteering at the Home with her Anglican church. Upon talking to staff here, she learned they were unable to run the café due to limited availability from volunteers. That’s when the idea hit her. She banded together with her fellow mom friends, whose children have exceptionalities, and they approached the team at St. Pat’s with getting involved alongside their girls to bring the café back to life. Now, these volunteers have everyone’s regular orders memorized on the back of their hand. While we were doing this interview, one family member even walked by and Lisa was quick to let them know she had a coffee tray ready to go for them should they want to bring up their usual coffee order to their loved one.
“That’s the nice thing, you get to know the residents and we know people’s coffee, Madi is the best at it. And it’s really nice because you get to know the families too… and all the staff is so welcoming and nice. You want to go to work in the morning.”
We are so grateful to Lisa, Madi and every single volunteer we have on board. Stay tuned to hear from more of our volunteers and get to know the stories behind the smiling faces you see around the Home! For information on how you can get involved as a volunteer visit https://stpats.ca/volunteering/
