Photo Credit: The Mercury |
Lee Sharpe was a charter
member of Friends of the Disabled (Renfrew) Inc. and a founder of the Sunshine Coach
Service/ Although Lee was a tireless worker for many local charities, her
heart always belonged to Sunshine Coach.
Lee recognized early that there was a dire lack of accessible
transportation in Renfrew and the surrounding area and that there was a great need
for a service that would help eliminate the transportation barriers that existed
in the lives of people living with disabilities.
In 1985, Lee was a founder and guiding force of Friends of the Disabled (Renfrew)
Inc. and remained so until her death in 2017. For over thirty years, Lee contributed
energy, enthusiasm and her considerable fund raising abilities to the support of
the Sunshine Coach Service. From humble beginnings with a single vehicle in
1985 when the fledgling service conducted just over two thousand trips to the major
transportation provider that it is today, Lee was involved at every step of the
way.
Today, everyone within the Town of Renfrew as well
as the Townships of Admaston/Bromley, Bonnechere Valley, Greater Madawaska, Horton
and Whitewater Region who are living with disabilities that render the use of conventional
modes of public trasnportaion inappropriate to their needs, owe the availability
of accessible transportation to Lee Sharpe.
In 2015, Friends of the Disabled (Renfrew) Inc. and Sunshine Coach Service in recognition
of three decades of providing reliable accessible transportation to the community
were proud to honour Lee by dedicating the building that is our home as the Lee Sharpe
Sunshine Centre. As long as there is a Sunshine Coach Service, our
building will proudly bear witness to the efforts and dedication of Lee Sharpe and
her legacy will live on. |