On April 18-24 is National Volunteer Week, an opportunity to recognize and thank volunteers who give so generously to causes they care about in their communities.
Hospice of Michigan is an organization where volunteers have been critical members of the care team providing companionship, caregiver relief, and support at the bedside for families with a loved one on life’s final journey.
It truly IS heroic work and we got a chance to meet several of those heroes. Sandy and Bob Spangler and their daughter Amanda Montgomery have nearly 60 years of combined volunteer service with Hospice of Michigan.
They talked about the reward of working with families at one of life’s most important moments. Volunteer Services Manager Megan Cadle said there are many opportunities to volunteer that can align with any person’s strengths and abilities and help ease the burden families face when caring for a loved one:
- Companionship or caregiver relief
- Veteran-to-veteran support
- Pet visits, music, hair/barber, etc.
- Running errands, lawn work
- Being an ambassador to raise awareness in the community about our services
- Administrative roles supporting office staff
Cadle said getting involved requires an application, a training session, and a commitment for at least one year of service. Interested volunteers should visit the following website and fill out the online application: http://www.hom.org/get-involved/. There is a training scheduled for Saturday, May 15th.
Hospice of Michigan has offices in Ada, Muskegon, Holland, Big Rapids and Ludington, serving patients in 14 different local counties, so there is no shortage of volunteer opportunities.
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