John McDivitt was born and raised in the Bulkley Valley and lived in Telkwa his entire life. There is not much about the history of the area or the people involved that John doesn’t know. He has been involved in volunteering and helping to strengthen the community in many intertwined ways over the years. John’s wife Janet, came to Telkwa from Ontario in 1994, and has joined her husband in volunteering in all the years since.
John has served as a Telkwa Councillor twice, was a member of the Kinsmen for 16 years, served as a Telkwa firefighter and was a member of the Telkwa Chamber of Commerce (when the village had one), to name a few of the organizations John has given his time and energy to.
Janet and John married in 1998, and once settled in Telkwa, she too began volunteering in the community, spending many hours helping with the Telkwa Museum, the Telkwa Seniors group and then joining John as a volunteer with the Telkwa and District Senior Society.
Volunteers are important in a community, they both agree, because they help strengthen the local community network and make connections that help build civic engagement.
The couple has helped with a variety of tasks such as mentoring, fundraising, and distributing resources, all of which have had a positive impact on the community.
They have also helped build bridges between organizations, bringing together different members of the community and creating a sense of unity.
Ultimately, these two volunteers have played an essential role in giving back to their community and making it a better place.
As they stepped back from other organizations in the community, their main focus of volunteering has been a ten-year journey to find a place in the community to build badly needed senior housing. At one time 50 volunteers served with the McDivitts on the Telkwa Senior Housing Society (TSHS).
The members identified the need for housing, did the fundraising and set about to purchase suitable land. Then began the long and arduous process of getting permits, applying for grants and dealing with the many agencies involved with such a large undertaking.
As a result, there are now two sets of apartment complexes, The Telkwa House and the newest addition, Aldermere Place, both of which are located in the Tower Street area of Telkwa.
The Telkwa House came first. Its eight modules were originally part of the Vancouver Expo complex. B.C. Housing bought the modules and made them available all over the northern. Telkwa applied and received eight, which were quickly filled. B.C. Housing still owns these units, although they are maintained by the TSHS.
The second set of 12 modular units, called Aldermere Place, was purchased and is maintained by the TSHS as well. This set of units includes two accessible units and a common room.
“The units are beautiful, have all new appliances, and heating and cooling systems that are top of the line,” John said.
READ MORE: Foundation nears completion for new units at Telkwa Seniors Housing complex
Through the generous donation from the late Telkwa resident Fritz Pfieffer, the common room was made possible and is a place all the residents can use and enjoy. It is named in honour of Pfieffer. A grant from the Wetzin’Kwa Community Forest group contributed the money to furnish the room.
“It is a wonderful place to gather, hold meetings or game nights and to enjoy some companionship,” Janet said.
It was a ten-year project of love for the McDivitts including a huge amount of time, paperwork, delays, contractor changes, and seeing the board dwindle from 50 down to four, “but seeing them done with the people moved in and happy, it was more than worth it,” both the McDivitts said.
“The society does have the property and the interest for more units,” said John, but as he says this, Janet reminds him there are still a million little things to do.
“And the not-so-little matter of running and maintaining the existing units,” Janet said with a smile.
For now, the McDivitts are happy to see the finishing touches through and maybe find a place in their home for the years of paperwork they have collected, and then they will think about more units.
“That’s for another day,” John said with a smile.
deb.meissner@interior-news.com
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