HOLLIS – “We appreciate your time; we appreciate your efforts, but most importantly, we appreciate the compassion and dedication that you bring to us every day that you spend with us here in the St. Joseph Hospital community,” John Jurczyk, president of St. Joseph Hospital, on Wednesday told a crowd of volunteers during an annual brunch to honor their efforts.

The St. Joseph’s event took place at Alpine Grove in Hollis. The hospital recognized its dedicated volunteers, who log thousands of hours per year, in celebration of National Volunteer Week.

The brunch was circus-themed with the title, “Come One, Come All Big Top Circus Brunch.”

Manager of volunteer services Michele Canto said a circus, in a manner similar to the hospital, consists of extraordinary people with different talents.

“You all bring your talents and share them with the staff and the patients on a daily basis,” Canto said.

She said although the volunteers are individuals, they come together as a strong team. The hospital uses volunteers in many areas, including pet therapy, clerical work, gift shop, emergency patient care and the Day Away program.

In 2018, St. Joseph Hospital volunteers dedicated a collective 22,481 hours of service.

Canto said hospital officials prefer to keep track of their volunteers’ hours. In addition, they use a rate calculated by the Points of Light national volunteer organization that shows the estimated national value of each volunteer hour. It is determined that this rate is $24.69 of value for each volunteer hour. When calculating the collective hours by hospital volunteers this year, Canto said it amounts to a value more than $555,000.

“That’s an amazing gift,” Canto told the crowd of volunteers. “The things that you do, the patients that you transport, the patients that you guide, the patients that you help in the gift shop or that you greet at the front desk, all of those hours matter and they matter because it’s one less employee being taken away from their direct patient care,”

“They’re able to focus on the patient because of people like you giving back to us,” she added.

The hospital currently has 240 active volunteers. Canto said 50 of them are junior volunteers, and they are expecting another 26 to start soon.

Annually, the hospital honors hours and years of service. Volunteers are recognized for achieving milestones. The milestones for hours included 500 hours, 1,000 hours, 2,000 hours, 3,000 hours, 4,000 hours 6,000 hours, 7,000 hours, 9,000 hours and 11,000 hours. For years of service, the milestones include two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years, 30 years and 35 years.

The Helen Girouard Award, named after an original St. Joseph volunteer of 1908, was also presented. The Mission Craft Ladies, who create crafts and raise money for the hospital’s Marguerite d’Youville fund, were recognized.

Pam Caetano, program coordinator of Volunteer Services at the hospital, ended the ceremony by once again thanking the volunteers.

“It truly is an honor to work with the group of volunteers that we have here,” she said. “I see the difference you make. It’s just incredible what you do, all the lives that you touch.”

Grace Pecci may be reached at 594-1243, or at gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.

Newsletter