Get involved…Get excited…Make a Difference!

Connecting the care in our community…one volunteer at a time!

If you are reading this article, you can volunteer. If you care about a family member or a friend you can volunteer. If you care about your children, you can volunteer. If you care about your grandchildren, you can volunteer. If you care, you can volunteer.

Ambassador Volunteers show up at Medical Center Health System whether there is rain, sleet, hail or sunshine. Volunteers are counted on for governance, advisory and committee meetings; to be the welcome ambassadors and guide visitors to their destination; to raise awareness of philanthropy opportunities and partnerships; to deliver freshly scented, beautiful flowers; to deliver mail to a patient who may not have family to visit him; to Pop HOT — FRESH — POPCORN; to extend a hand and a kind word to a family as they nervously await their dad’s surgery; to check in a patient’s family member into the Friendship Home; to act as Farmers Market Friend and act as navigators for hundreds of market goers; to mentor and train teens in the teen volunteer leadership program; to be a Caring Paws friend alongside Caring Paws ‘dog’ volunteer and bring smiles and laughter to patients; or to visit with patients and educating them on the importance of accessing their electronic medical records and helping them set up their own account in real time!

As an American, we are privileged to align ourselves to a cause, a mission in which we are passionate about to the point that we willingly give of our time, our talent and our treasure!

This principle of giving of self for the betterment of a common good is how and why our country was founded.

We shudder to think that right now as you are reading this article, there are people in this world who wish, who fight, who cry and who die all in spirit of service and volunteerism!

We celebrate and honor the countless hours and heartfelt acts of kindness by all of our volunteer teams.

I’m inclined to believe that all of us have an innate desire to do more with our lives that just to exist. We were created to:

• Get involved – Get involved with more than just our day, our agenda, our needs … instead let us extend ourselves, our resources and blessings to others who may be lacking.
• Get excited – Get excited about what is in store for us today! Who can we help today? What can we achieve? How can we nurture partnerships? When will I have the next opportunity to make use of our God–given talents?
• Make a Difference – Make a difference with genuine warmth, a passion and a zeal that is infectious! Let’s leave people better than we first encountered them – in a spirit of goodness and compassion!

We pause specifically in April as we celebrate National Volunteer Healthcare Week, April 10th – 16th to thank you and all those who have gone on before us and sown the seeds of service, commitment, vision and passion within our community and our great country.

The name, Volunteer; wear it proudly! Being a volunteer reminds us that the best part of humanity will continue to prevail even amidst adversity and chaos. Compassion will ensure that mankind will continue to help the needy, to hear the despaired and to heal the disheartened.

Find out how to get involved…get excited and make a difference…email us at VolunteerMCHS@echd.org

Submitted by: Patricia Q. Garcia, CAVS, (Certified Administrator Volunteer Services) Director of Volunteer Services since 1997, of lead trauma 402-bed regional, Medical Center Health System, in Odessa Texas. Farmers Market Manager for health system, Writer, Community, State and National Volunteer, Tortilla-maker, Volunteer advocate, Leadership and Communication speaker and coach.