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This month, we celebrate the impactful roles of our nation's volunteers during National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 24 through the 30th. This is the perfect opportunity to write about volunteering at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. While COVID protocols have required us to pause on most volunteer opportunities, we have recently begun to welcome our volunteers back onsite, making this the perfect time to highlight some of our volunteer opportunities.

For folks in the Windsor-Essex area looking for volunteer experience, we have several options:

As a member of our Hospital or Foundation Board of Directors
Fundraising Event Volunteers
As a member of our Patient & Family Advisory Councils (PFAC)
As a member of our Youth Advisory Council (YAC) or Youth in Partnership (YIP)
Patient and Client Assistants
Spiritual Care
Coffee Bars

COFFEE BARS

Volunteering at our coffee bars is a perfect opportunity for students looking to get their community service hours or for new Canadians and retirees looking to connect within our community.

Recently we have welcomed volunteers back through a phased approach. We started with the Emara Coffee Bar and soon hope to have enough volunteers to open the Tayfour Coffee Bar. Our Coffee Bars operate during the off hours of our cafeterias, making a cup of joe or sweet treat extra accessible for our patients, staff, physicians and Designated Care Partners. Our coffee bars volunteers are a warm welcome to all their customers and the commitment is just one 4 hour shift per week.

To become a coffee bar volunteer or learn more click here.

HDGH PATIENT and FAMILY ADVISORY COUNCILS (PFAC)

PFAC Poster The patient voice is at the centre of everything we do at HDGH. Established in 2015, PFAC is an advisory committee to the Executive Leadership Team of our hospital. This also included a Mental Health and Addictions Patient Advisory Council, a group of more than 10 individuals who share observations, offer advice and provide input on Mental Health and Addictions care provided by HDGH. These groups are important resources to the organization and are involved in offering ideas on the best way to move forward with changes that affect the patient experience.

If you are a former patient, loved-one of a patient, or have ideas on how to improve local healthcare service delivery, this is the volunteer opportunity for you!

Apply to PFAC

HDGH FOUNDATION EVENTS AND FUNDRAISING COMMITTEES

Being a volunteer at a fundraising event is a great way to get involved in the community, meet new people and give back to healthcare by way of our HDGH Foundation. Whether it is by taking part in a committee or being an event day volunteer, we are always looking for creative and outgoing volunteers of all ages to join the fun.
Volunteer for an Event

HDGH AND FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Hôtel-Dieu Grace Board of Directors and standing committees are responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction to the Executive Leadership Team. This dedicated group of volunteers from the community brings a wide range of skills and experience. They are committed to ensuring that HDGH is making Windsor and Essex a healthier community and living out its Mission every day.

The Foundation Board is responsible to oversee the activities of the Foundation, and administering funds entrusted to them, ensuring that it is done ethically and transparently.

Be sure to watch the Hospital’s and Foundation’s social media channels for application information.

THANK YOU HDGH VOLUNTEERS

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the resiliency of our HDGH volunteers. The pause on volunteers during the pandemic has been a challenge for everyone. Through phone calls, emails and messages, we continue to experience your eagerness to return to volunteer, signifying your tremendous dedication to our hospital, and ultimately, the health of our community. We cannot wait to see your smiling faces again soon and many new faces as well, as a Spiritual Care Volunteer, a Pet Visitation Volunteer or as one of our many other patient and client assistant volunteers. Thank you to all for hanging in there. Our regular volunteer updates will continue via email and on our webpage www.hdgh.org/volunteers.

About the author Peggy O’Kane
Coordinator, Volunteer & Academic Placements
[email protected]

I have been involved with volunteers at HDGH for over 15 years in various roles starting as a volunteer myself in the Human Resources department. While helping there in HR, I quickly learned that HDGH was a community I would like to be a part of long-term. A few months later, I was thankful and excited to join the Volunteer Services department as an Administrative Assistant.

These days, I enjoy extremely rewarding work by engaging with people of all ages and in all stages of their careers, education and life. In addition to my Coordinator role, I am also the staff liaison for the HDGH Youth Advisory Council (YAC), a group that connect through youth-led initiatives to improve the health of our community through mental health education through social media, education events, and volunteering. This group gives me hope for a future where our community continues to grow stronger together.

I would be remiss to not take the opportunity to mention two impactful annual events hosted by YAC - Wellness Through Grace and the Photovoice Project. Follow them on Instagram (@hdghyac) for further updates.

Throughout all this time, while learning from and working with the diverse population of volunteers who have come through our doors, I have seen firsthand how volunteering connects people, ideas and actions and I’ve witnessed the creation of multiple unforgettable and important connections. As we continue to work collectively with volunteers, we all have something to give and something to receive. Volunteers give their time, talent and passions which transform into unique gifts that make a difference in our community. These are the reasons we need to celebrate volunteers here and everywhere during this National Volunteer Week.