According to Cynthia Emiry Roy, president & CEO of Regional Hospice and Home Care, the patient, Sara, started writing an article entitled, "Volunteers—More Than Just a Cup of Coffee," to thank the volunteers who helped her and to remember them for National Volunteer Month.
"She was savvy to the intangibles that go beyond medical expertise to fill a waning life with joy, and the vast army of dedicated volunteers it takes to make those intangibles materialize through positive life experiences.," Roy said.
In her writings, Sara shared with some of the incredible things that volunteers did to enhance her final months, Roy added.
“A volunteer was my trip down the Seine River; with them I explored artists and learned about classic cars. I felt like one of their old Navy pals. One volunteer shared her love of music, and she sang to me. Another volunteer baked me cupcakes; I waited for her visits every week. Deb, my personal family support volunteer, did everything—she became my hands and my voice and kept the normal parts of my life going when I could not,” Sara wrote.
These are only a few of the volunteer experiences that Sara mentioned in her article, yet more than 800 of our patients have similar stories about the 330 Regional Hospice volunteers, Roy said.
"This past year alone, our volunteers generously donated 16,800 volunteer hours to help our families and assist with our programs. They greeted visitors in our Center for Comfort Care & Healing, worked in our gardens, provided pet therapy to our patients, gave their time and resources as members of our board of directors, made flower arrangements for patients and helped to maintain our building," she said.
"This is our volunteer's month," Roy added. "Sara would want you all to savor every last bit of our gratitude."
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