Vancouver volunteers, we salute you

Next week ­­– April 15 to 21 ­­– we celebrate National Volunteer Week in Canada.

We are grateful for our dedicated volunteers each and every day, and National Volunteer Week provides the perfect opportunity for us to formally express our appreciation. VCH-Vancouver’s 2,900 volunteers provide well over 100,000 hours of service every year and make a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our clients, residents and patients.

We are fortunate to have such devoted volunteers who fill hundreds of valuable roles supporting so many at our health care facilities and in our community at large. We are continuously awed and humbled by their unwavering service and support.

Here is a snapshot of the assistance our volunteers have given others in the past year:

• visited, offered well wishes or provided emergency clothing to VGH patients 8,100 times;
• helped patients and family members in the Emergency Department 74,000 times;
• assisted visitors to VGH and UBCH with information and way-finding 175,000 times;
• engaged with new parents and young children during 1,350 sessions at clinics and drop-in groups, helping to ensure a healthy start in life;
• visited with clients 1,900 times in their homes and communities to support their wellness and rehabilitation goals; and
• fulfilled 3,800 grocery shopping orders for 250 homebound seniors and people with disabilities to ensure access to nutritional food.

To all our volunteers, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your time, your generosity and your commitment to others. You touch so many lives every day and we thank you for it. And, to all VCH-Vancouver staff and physicians, we invite you to take a moment out of your busy schedule next week to join us and thank a volunteer for his or her time, skills and dedication.

Sincerely,

Laura Case and Vivian Eliopoulos

VCH-Vancouver Chief Operating Officers

As we approach National Volunteer Week, you’ll see events and articles celebrating our amazing volunteers before, during and even after the official week of celebration… because, really, every day is the right day to say thank you to a health care volunteer! (Watch for articles in VCH News on both April 12 and 19.)