Guest opinion: Volunteering: Good for the community and good for you
Hope Hospice volunteers use a number of words to positively describe their experience, including “rewarding,” “enriching” and “fulfilling.”
Interestingly, there is actual research that supports the feelings they express. A recent national study of the Health Benefits of Volunteering summed up what our volunteers have known for a long time: you feel better when you serve as a volunteer in the community. The study found that individuals who give at least 100 hours of their time each year report improved physical and mental health, greater life satisfaction and lower mortality rates than their non-volunteering peers. Evidence suggests that volunteering has a positive effect on psychological factors such as one’s sense of purpose. Volunteering may enhance a person’s special networks to reduce stress and risk of illness.
These personal benefits are all derived from one thing: the knowledge that you are helping others and making a difference in their lives.
Hope Hospice volunteers help patients and their families each day in ways that add real quality to the patients’ lives. They provide companionship. They may drive the patient to the doctor or go shopping for them. They give family caregivers an opportunity to rest or take care of business or other family matters. Some volunteers work at special events such as health fairs, informing the public of how Hope can help. Other volunteers work in our offices, and they too are supporting the staff in the care of our patients and their families.
Working as a Hope volunteer can be a life-changing experience.
One of our volunteers regularly takes fresh flowers to our patients. On one occasion, she went to the home of a patient who had been non-responsive for quite a long time, unable to speak or open her eyes or feed herself.
When the volunteer placed the flowers by her bed, she turned her head, opened her eyes and said, “They are beautiful.” Imagine the joy that our volunteer felt at that moment! Sometimes even the smallest deeds make a tremendous impact in the lives of those in our care.
It is no exaggeration to say that Hope volunteers make the community a better place to live.
I encourage you to consider becoming a Hope Hospice volunteer. No experience is necessary, and you will receive in-depth training about our work. Please call 489-9180. You too can make our community a better place.
— Samira K. Beckwith is president and CEO of Hope Hospice. Hope’s mission is to provide exceptional care and support to every individual and their loved ones as they fulfill life’s journey.