Volunteer Profile: Carolyn Sim

Carolyn Sim shares her story as a speaker volunteer

Creating a legacy through volunteering

Volunteers all have their own individual reasons for getting involved. For Threads of Life volunteer Carolyn Sim her reason is very personal. 

“I volunteer for Threads of Life to show my sons that their dad, although he died, is not forgotten,” she says. “That by talking about him, we can prevent other tragedies, prevent other families from going through what we went through. I have always volunteered, and it was important to volunteer for a cause that we are connected to. Volunteering for Threads of Life has helped me continue to grow and heal.”

Carolyn is a tireless advocate for Threads of Life. She is a Volunteer Family Guide, a member of the Speaker’s Bureau, a member of the Sarnia Steps for Life committee, attends trade shows and events, and most recently, led the charge to launch a peer support group in her community.

Carolyn’s husband Dan sustained a severe brain injury after a fall from a ladder into a deep window well. He died two weeks later.

She remembers first learning about Threads of Life in 2010 from her cousin, who told her about the Steps for Life walk. She realizes too that she was given information about Threads of Life following Dan’s accident, but at the time, it didn’t resonate.

Carolyn attended Steps for Life, where she met other families who had experienced a workplace tragedy. Later that year, she attended her first family forum. “I knew I wanted to be a part of Threads of Life and to volunteer. The next winter I attended Speakers Bureau Training and Volunteer Family Guide training”

Carolyn’s favourite memory as a Threads of Life volunteer was at the 2018 Steps for Life walk. The family spokesperson at the walk that year was the young daughter of the family member that Carolyn supports in her role as a Volunteer Family Guide.

“I was so proud of her,” Carolyn recalls. “She is the youngest family member ever to volunteer to share their story at a Steps for Life walk. She did such a great job.”

Carolyn also finds time in her very busy schedule to volunteer for the Brain Injury Association of Sarnia/Lambton, another cause she is passionate about.

Through her volunteer work, Carolyn Sim is creating a beautiful legacy.