Volunteer Services
CLC Hospice takes the role of volunteer most seriously. Volunteers are the heart of the services we provide and an integral component to our structure. There are many ways of lending support and our volunteers choose what role best suits them, whether it is working directly or indirectly with our patients and their families or helping us in our offices.
The skills needed in managing a home or office are also needed in hospice, and the volunteer program at CLC provides opportunities for service to those who are eager to share their gifts with others. It is a state regulation that a minimum of 5% of the care provided to patients and families be accomplished by volunteers. CLC is compliant in this area and continually strives to do more.
If you are seeking to join a team where you can make a difference, contact Ron Williams, volunteer coordinator at CLC Hospice.
How Can Volunteering Help Me?
We all have a need to reach out to others. The old adage “Charity begins at home” is true for most of us. We begin by caring for others in our family relationships.
As we find that our needs are provided for, we become more aware of the needs of those outside our circle of family and friends. We also come to the realization that we have skills, talents and abilities that have value in our community. We first use those resources to supply our needs and the needs of those closest to us.
When that has been accomplished, we begin to look for fulfillment by reaching out beyond our immediate family and friends to apply our talents.
It is recognized that we all need to see ourselves as effective and valuable contributors to our community.
Mostly we just call it the “good feeling” you get when you help.
Why Volunteer in Hospice?
If you have encountered grief at the loss of someone dear to you, you know the uncertainty you felt along with the personal pain. If you look back on those times, you find that even those of us who usually face misfortune boldly, were deeply affected by that experience. Simply, although you endured, you were not “at your best.”
If you had the benefit of hospice to assist you when you faced a time of loss, you know what an advantage it was. If not, imagine how much of a lift it could have been.
Do My Talents Fit Hospice?
When we think of Hospice Care the first thing that usually comes to mind is that we are supporting someone who is terminally ill. That’s certainly what hospice is about. What isn’t always readily clear is that there are many ways of giving that support. Many whose work supports hospice care never see a patient or step inside the patient’s home. Volunteers choose what role best suits them.
- Can you type, sew, read, repair, drive, clean, design, plant, talk, listen, prune, hammer, pray, fold, file, count, write, paint or style hair?
- Do you have professional skills? Are you a nurse, pharmacist, counselor or teacher?
- Are you a student on a career track to the “helper” professions?
If you don’t fit into any of the above categories, that’s good too because whatever your unique abilities are, they can be applied to hospice care. If there is anything that needs to be done around a home or office, it needs to be done in support of Hospice.
State regulations even recognize this and do not limit the work a volunteer may do so long as she/he is qualified.
If you want the time you give to count, consider becoming a hospice volunteer.