National Volunteer week falls in April of each year and provides an opportunity for organizations to celebrate the impact of their selfless and inspirational Volunteers. At Sheridan Memorial Hospital (SMH), our volunteers are the heart of our organization. Every service given to our hospital is another chance to provide excellent patient-centered care to everyone in our community.
People choose to volunteer, all over the world, for numerous reasons. Many will tell you it’s great to get involved in your community and feel a part of something after retirement. It’s a beautiful opportunity to give back to the place you call home. Volunteering allows you the space to fuel your passions and share your favorite pastimes with others. You can learn new things, develop new skills, meet new people. It will get you out of the house, help you build a routine, and give you something else to look forward to throughout the day. It can help those of all ages learn the value of philanthropy in their community. Volunteering can be anything you want it to be when doing it in the right space for you.
At SMH, we are lucky enough to work alongside unique, talented, and genuine volunteers who serve as irreplaceable resources to our organization. We are gifted with a group of individuals dedicated to SMH and the health and wellness of our entire community. Our volunteers make an effort to create an environment of comfort and cultivate a Culture of Kindness in everything they do, and it wouldn’t be possible without them.
It is humbling to work alongside so many selfless individuals who choose to take the time to serve their community through numerous volunteer activities. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know these individuals, sharing in their experiences, learning about their loved ones, and I’m honored to be part of their stories.
Our volunteers are part of our culture, our patient experience, our family. Their friendly greetings and genuine smiles, kind hearts, and overwhelming support for all those they encounter are what complete the heart of Sheridan Memorial Hospital. We appreciate the smiles in their eyes, their welcoming demeanor and feel their warm presence in the hallways of our hospital. The past few years have taught us how truly invaluable our volunteers are.
Thank you for every book you’ve donated to our newborn babies. We appreciate all of the shelves you’ve stocked with trendy and unique inventory in our Kozy Korner Gift Shop, so we are the best dressed, and our homes and offices stay well decorated. We are grateful for all the Blood Drives you continue to coordinate, ensuring our blood supplies are stocked and replenished when SMH patients and neighbors need them.
We are thankful for every tiny patient you comforted with your scrubby bears before and after surgery, every 5-year-old you have celebrated in the last 62 years (including over 130 children at this year’s drive-by event), and every time you guided us to our next appointment or relocated office on our hospital’s growing campus.
Our team can’t even begin to count how many people you’ve gifted a piece of home with the cards you’ve sold visitors for our patients, a kind note or the sweet tooth you cured with our favorite candy bar in the late afternoons.
Thank you for joining us for all the meetings and phone calls, being present, sharing your thoughts and ideas, and all the events you have attended because you, too, believe in medical excellence – right here at home.
It’s impossible to measure how many times you’ve warmed our hearts and hallways, the number of people who have been positively affected by your generosity, and it’s incomprehensible where Sheridan Memorial Hospital would be without you.
To learn more about Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s volunteer program go to www.sheridanhospital.org/community/volunteer-opportunities/ or contact Jasmine Slater at jasmineslater@sheridanhospital.org or call 307.675.2620