Thorneloe honours Camp Manitou volunteers

Thorneloe University honoured those involved in an Anglican summer camp located on the North Channel of Lake Huron at its 31st convocation ceremony, Oct. 12.

The Thorneloe Mitre was awarded to the many individuals who volunteer at Camp Manitou Bay of Islands.

Camp Manitou has been welcoming children and families of all ages and faiths for the past 50 years.

During this time, the camp has been directed and operated by hundreds of volunteers, many of whom have come from ranks of alumni campers and from the wider community, according to a press release from Thorneloe.

Camp Manitou stands as "the great achievement of these volunteers, a community of people who commit themselves to maintaining the camp property, providing programs that accentuate whole health and fitness, and emphasizing the Christian ethic of giving time, talent and treasure," the press release stated.

The president of the camp's board of directors, Anne Cole, was awarded Thorneloe University’s Honorary Doctorate of Canon Law, and delivered the convocation address.

In addition to her long involvement as a volunteer at Camp Manitou, Cole was recognized for her significant work in women’s justice issues.

She was one of a small group of women who founded the Sudbury Person’s Day Breakfast in the late 1980s and worked to establish Celebrate Women, a group which brings renowned female authors to Greater Sudbury.

Commissioned as the third female Land Surveyor in Ontario, Cole has contributed significantly to the mentoring of young women entering her profession. She has also been a long-time advocate for children with speech and language difficulties.

As well, Shannon Hengen, professor emerita of English at Laurentian University, was named an Honorary Fellow of Thorneloe University.

An expert in the fiction of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, Hengen taught English at Laurentian for more than 20 years before her retirement last year.

Her contributions to the academic and community lives of Laurentian and Thorneloe Universities have been unrivalled, the press release stated.

In her retirement, she remains involved in the community life of Greater Sudbury, including her active lay ministry at the Anglican Church of the Ascension in New Sudbury.

Thorneloe University is an interdisciplinary centre of teaching, learning and research in the humanities, the arts and theology.

A founding member of the Laurentian University federation affiliated with the Anglican Church, Thorneloe provides an accessible education fostering critical inquiry in a student-focused environment.