Every April, organizations throughout our community and country pause to recognize and appreciate some of their most selfless team members. The teammates who show up without traditional pay, the ones without your typical form of benefits, and those who will show up far earlier for a shift than many others – we pause to celebrate and thank our volunteers. We take this opportunity to showcase and show gratitude for their invaluable impact and the culture we strive to create at your community hospital. At Sheridan Memorial Hospital (SMH), our volunteers are the heart of our organization. Every service given to our hospital is another chance to further our mission and provide excellent patient-centered care to everyone in our community.
For numerous reasons and in thousands of instances, people choose to volunteer. Many will tell you it’s great to get involved in your community and feel a part of something after their well-earned 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, and meet new people. It will get you out of the house, help you build a new routine, and give you something 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 when doing it in the best space for you.
At SMH, we are lucky to work alongside unique, talented, and genuine volunteers who are 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. 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, share in their experiences, learning about their loved ones, and I’m honored to be part of their stories.
Thousands of interactions take place within our hospital every day. Many vulnerable patients and visitors, countless grateful new parents and families, passionate staff and professionals all making connections big and small. SMH volunteers are at the core of these interactions in our waiting room, gift shop, cafeteria, hallways – everywhere. Our volunteers are part of our culture, our patient experience, our family. Their friendly greetings, genuine smiles, kind hearts, and overwhelming support for all they encounter complete the heart of Sheridan Memorial Hospital. We appreciate the smiles in their eyes and 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 exceptional 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 63 years, 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 and the number of people who have been positively affected by your generosity. It’s incomprehensible where Sheridan Memorial Hospital and I would be without you.
Jasmine Slater
Volunteer and Development Coordinator
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