{"id":32033,"date":"2023-04-14T10:45:50","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T15:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/?p=32033"},"modified":"2023-08-18T13:28:11","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T18:28:11","slug":"national-volunteer-week-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/national-volunteer-week-2\/","title":{"rendered":"National Volunteer Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Celebrating the contributions of our amazing volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Volunteer Week is the perfect opportunity to thank and highlight the many volunteers who give of themselves to enhance our patients\u2019 hospital experience. Volunteers are an important part of the Bethany Children’s team, providing companionship, playing games, offering encouragement, and aiding our staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Volunteer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Karen Dodd began volunteering at Bethany Children\u2019s in 2017 after she retired. Her volunteer position is in our \u201cKoala Care\u201d program, which focuses on the tiniest of patients who receive positive touches while being held or rocked. Karen says, \u201cKoala Care allows the staff to attend to the medical needs of the patients, knowing the babies are being comforted and pacified by the volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karen loves contributing to the love and care of patients and having a positive impact during her visits. \u201cIf I can start with a fussing or unhappy baby and end up with a calm and possibly sleeping baby, I know that I\u2019ve made a difference,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karen has benefited from volunteering as she transitioned from her working life to retirement. \u201cVolunteering at Bethany Children\u2019s has been a great reminder that we have multiple strengths, many of which go untapped until we let go of other things,\u201d she explains. \u201cI personally feel that we are called to serve each other, and by doing that we are also serving God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteer patient companion, Russell Benson, checks in on both Complex Care and Rehabilitation patients during his shifts. He plays games, reads or simply spends time with patients. \u201cI can see in their eyes or on their faces that they know I\u2019m there,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes just a smile and holding their hand is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russell enjoys getting to know patients and watching them progress toward their goals. \u201cThe feeling is absolutely indescribable,\u201d he says, \u201cI don\u2019t leave at the end of my shift feeling sorry for anyone. I leave knowing these kids are in the best hands possible and are being loved on by everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His experience with patients has proved inspirational and changed his outlook on life. \u201cI don\u2019t ever stress about life anymore, because these kids go through more challenges in a day than most of us will go through in a lifetime,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Adaptive Recreation and Fine Arts Center at Bethany Children\u2019s provides countless opportunities for volunteers to interact with children through reading, crafts, playing games and being active. Volunteer Kristy Finley shares, \u201cI\u2019ve played cards and board games, read books with some spunky and spirited little ones, experienced the sensory room with sweet patients, and giggled, laughed and played with babies in the dance studio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteering has given Kristy a sense of gratitude. \u201cI have been able to spend time with children whose families haven\u2019t visited yet that day. I feel grateful, and feel such joy when I think about the smiles I was a part of that day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling volunteering the best part of her day, Kristy shares her experiences with her husband and son. \u201cI hope my son can see the happiness I get from helping others and want to do the same,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our goal at Bethany Children\u2019s is to always let our volunteers know how much we value their time and service. Karen says, \u201cI have never volunteered and not been thanked for coming. The entire staff at Bethany Children\u2019s is welcoming and appreciative of the volunteers. I am glad to be a member of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to all of our volunteers for your dedication, time and love shared with our patients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrating the contributions of our amazing volunteers. National Volunteer Week is the perfect opportunity to thank and highlight the many volunteers who give of themselves to enhance our patients\u2019 hospital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[762,574,761],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32033"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32033"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32039,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32033\/revisions\/32039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bethanychildrens.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}