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Lyle Karasiuk Receives the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers

Aug 5, 2016 | 9:23 AM

On behalf of the Victoria Hospital Foundation and it’s staff and board of directors, please join me in congratulating one of our board members, Lyle Karasiuk, on receiving the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers in recognition of his contributions to our community. 

This is a very prestigious and meaningful honour awarded by the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston.

I think I speak for all when I say that our community is greatly enriched as a result of Mr. Karasiuk’s tireless giving of his time and passion to the many worthy causes he cares deeply about.

The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers recognizes the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country and celebrates a wide range of voluntary contributions.

As an official honour created by the Crown, the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers is part of the Canadian Honours System. The program has incorporated and replaced the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award, which was created in 1995, by then-Governor General the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc.

The Chancellery of Honours, part of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, administers the program.

Nomination Process and Eligibility Criteria
The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers recognizes living Canadians who have made a significant, sustained and unpaid contribution to their community, in Canada or abroad. Non-Canadians are also b eligible if their contribution brings benefit or honour to Canadians or to Canada.

Nominations for the Medal for Volunteers are accepted throughout the year by the Chancellery of Honours and reviewed by an advisory committee, which makes recommendations to the governor general. Existing Caring Canadian Award recipients will subsequently receive the medal to complement their award.

Nominate a friend, neighbour or member of your community who deserves this unique honour by visiting caring.gg.ca.

Description of the Medal
The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers consists of a silver circular medal that is 36 mm in diameter with a suspension ring. The obverse depicts a contemporary effigy of the Sovereign, circumscribed with the inscription in capital letters of the Canadian Royal Title and the word “CANADA”, separated by two maple leaves. The reverse bears a large and a small heart interlaced, set with five maple leaves on the outer edge of the large heart which is surmounted by a coronet bearing three maple leaves. The edge of the reverse is decorated with a sunburst pattern. The medal is suspended from a ribbon that is 32 mm in width, the edges of which shall consist of 9.25 mm deep red stripes and the centre of which shall consist of five 1.5 mm gold stripes interspersed with four 1.5 mm blue stripes