Humankindness in Action – Volunteer in Your Community

Over the past year, we at CHI Saint Joseph Health have formally recognized A Year of Humankindness. The special year served as a launch of our new brand promise, Hello humankindness, and celebrated the simple acts of kindness across our hospitals and clinics carried out by our employees and our communities.

Our volunteers are the epitome of humankindness. They so selflessly give of their time and their experience within the walls of our hospitals, but also, especially during the time of COVID, out in their homes and the communities. They brighten the days of our patients and staff – playing piano in some facilities, helping our cancer care teams, connecting with patients and escorting them to their destinations, and working in our gift shops.

As we have paused volunteer services in our hospitals during surges in the pandemic, our volunteers continue to serve. Our crafters contribute handmade hope - making stuffed animals, cancer hats, prayer shawls and pocket prayer quilts to share with our patients. This allows them to stay connected to our ministry and to our community.

Our volunteers manage the gift shops in the hospitals throughout the ministry and, starting in February, will assume responsibility for our gift shops at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East. This new opportunity will allow our volunteers to give back even more to our community as they make decisions about how to use proceeds in our facilities. For instance, at Saint Joseph London, our volunteers use proceeds from the gift shop, which they staff, to award scholarships for students of our employees. At Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, they’ve contributed to Giraffe Omnibeds to care for our youngest patients. The Flaget Memorial Hospital Auxiliary provided funding for 3D mammography.

We have around 300 volunteers across CHI Saint Joseph Health, many of whom are retired. Our numbers typically grow in the summer, as we welcome teen volunteers into our hospitals. Our volunteers say their work at our hospitals give them the opportunity to remain active and to give back to their communities. It gives them that human connection that we all need, especially as we continue to navigate a global pandemic.

We expect the same is true for volunteers at other organizations in our community. These interconnections are more than just a transaction of activity given by the volunteer, received by an organization. They highlight an important piece of the fabric of our society – allowing us to work together for a common cause of improving our communities and recognize the humankindness that lives inside all of us.

It’s been a difficult few years as we’ve navigated the pandemic, and we are grateful for our volunteers and for those who serve in other ways in our community.  As we start a new year and you reflect on your New Year’s resolutions, consider finding a way to give back to the community. Whether it’s at our hospitals, your church, your school or another community organization, volunteering is humankindness.

To volunteer at CHI Saint Joseph Health, visit CHISaintJosephHealth.org/volunteer.