By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The many good deeds of Kristine Jarvis are not going unnoticed.
So much so, the Chatham-Kent Police Service employee has been nominated for a prestigious award bestowed by the Police Association of Ontario.
Called the Hero of the Year award, it recognizes people, who work for police services, who go above and beyond the call of duty.
Jarvis has served as a support staff worker for the CKPS Canadian Police Information Centre unit (CPIC) since 2007.
That’s just her day job.
Jarvis does so much more. She’s head of the board for Chatham-Kent Victim Services and volunteers with the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
She doesn’t do it for the accolades. Jarvis is described by colleagues as someone who never misses an opportunity to pitch in.
“It’s a great honour to be nominated,” Jarvis told The Chatham Voice recently. “I’m very humbled by it.”
To say Jarvis is busy is an understatement. The married mother of six gives her time to a host of other efforts.
Jarvis is an original steering committee member of Shop With A Cop, the Salvation Army Toy Drive chairperson and is also a Polar Plunge for Special Olympics participant.
As part of her work with Victim Services, Jarvis is the bursary and donor co-ordinator and the Paul Herfst bursary co-ordinator.
When asked about her favourite volunteer experience, Jarvis has a hard time narrowing it down, adding they all provide something meaningful.
She said she’s proud of her work with Victim Services.
“The agency has grown so much,” Jarvis said. “We’ve got six fantastic staff who support the community.”
She said the pandemic has impacted the service, cutting back on face-to-face support, noting she’ll be glad when pandemic protocols are lifted and things can return to normal.
Make-A-Wish touches her heart as well.
Jarvis said it’s “incredibly rewarding” to help a terminally ill child.
“You can see the joy in their eyes,” Jarvis explained, adding she sometimes “cries her face off” driving home after she leaves an encounter.
Working with the families and parents through Make-A-Wish is a one-of-a-kind endeavour.
“It’s the very definition of courage to meet them and hear their stories,” she said. “It’s something words can’t describe.
“It may seem altruistic but they give me so much more than I give them.”
Helping out with Christmas toy drives, which Jarvis said, are getting bigger each year, is another of her favourite things.
“I love Christmas,” she said. “To know you helped someone celebrate the holidays is pretty magical.”
Away from work, when not busy with family, Jarvis likes to unwind with her fur babies named Elvis and Flash.
The two basset hounds “get a great deal of love and attention from me,” Jarvis said.
