Monday, April 18, 2011
Volunteers are special people
The numbers are staggering. At The William W. Backus Hospital, our 464 volunteers – ranging in age from 14 to 97 – donated 47,414 hours in the past year.
Some of our loyal, dedicated volunteers put in more than 500 hours in the past year; some have volunteered more than 7,500 hours in their lifetimes; and some have been selflessly been doing it for more than a half century.
But more important than these numbers are words. During National Volunteer Week April 10-16, we asked our hospital volunteers to jot down on paper what volunteering means to them. Here are some excerpts:
• “I volunteer at Backus because I enjoy helping people and it gives me a reason to stay healthy.”
• “I volunteer to give back to Backus for the good experience my family has had in the past.”
• “I volunteer because four years ago, I found myself all alone. I was very lonely, and wanted to do something meaningful with my time. I became a volunteer 3½ years ago, and it is the best thing I could have done. I have met wonderful people that I have learned to love. We have a great time together. I will volunteer as long as the Lord lets me.”
• “I volunteer to get out of the house and into the real world!”
• “Five reasons why I volunteer: 1) I want to help people. 2). I like the social part of it and meeting all the people. 3) I want to do something useful with my spare time. 4) I want to give back to my community. 5) It’s lots of work, but lots of fun, too.”
• “I needed to feel needed. Someone, somewhere, could use my extra time to do something useful. A friend at the Senior Center asked me to come to Backus and see if I liked doing volunteer work. My first assignment: HospiTell (employee newsletter) mailing. Then, discharging. Making charts came next. I’m still doing this, and feeling very proud of the time I give to Backus.”
• “I enjoy being with people who are experiencing difficult times, and hopefully providing them with some degree of consolation.”
• “I volunteer because it makes my hear feel good. Putting a smile on a patient’s face, helping out a hospital employee, or just helping a patient get from one place to another — it lifts my heart, and makes me feel like I made a difference in someone else’s day.”
• “First and foremost, I volunteer to help our community hospital. Second, working for a pleasant and dedicated director, which makes our job that much more pleasant. Third, the self-satisfaction of helping someone.”
Fulfillment. Purpose. Friendship. Making a difference. These words epitomize volunteers, at Backus Hospital and in many organizations.
It takes special kinds of people to volunteer, and we are lucky to have these individuals in our midst.
Our hospital, our community, our state, our nation and our world are better places because of them.
If you would like to support our volunteer program, and enjoy the sounds of Tony Bennett in the process, please consider purchasing tickets to a benefit concert on Friday, June 24, at the Mohegan Sun. Although the show is sold out, the Mohegan Tribe has graciously donated a skybox for this cause. Tickets are $150 and include a pre-concert reception at 6:30 p.m. and refreshments. All proceeds benefit our not-for-profit hospital’s Volunteer Bridge Program, which provides career exploration and hands-on experience for more than 100 young men and women each summer.
Mary Brown is the Director of Volunteer Services at The William W. Backus Hospital. If you want to comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy Living blog atwww.backushospital.org/backus-blogs or e-mail Ms. Brown or any of the Healthy Living columnists athealthyliving@wwbh.org
