Thankful Thursday

We celebrate our wonderful volunteers! We are fortunate to have a generous and caring group to lend their time and talent to our organization. When they’re not at one of our Parrish Healthcare locations, many of our volunteers are helping at their church, food pantries, schools and other community organizations.

When asked why they volunteer, the overwhelming answer is volunteering feels good. Some research has shown volunteering has health benefits such as: enhanced mental wellbeing, higher happiness levels, longer lifespan, lower blood pressure, increased activity and decreased stress.

“Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”- a quote from Elizabeth Andrew that describes today’s story. Parrish Healthcare volunteers, Patricia (Pat) Christian and Douglas Chamberlain, had heart and took the time to provide a young child with a wholesome meal and a means to remain warm.

The mother and child had been in the Emergency Department and afterwards took to a bench outdoors to await their ride. Doug describes that, “It was early morning and there was a nip in the air and I was concerned because the child wore only a diaper.” Doug then found a warm cover in which his mother could wrap him. Doug continued, “Pat and I decided the young child may have been hungry.” He and Pat brought the boy a bowl of warm, wholesome oatmeal from our Atrium café.

Pat and Doug were extremely humble when telling the story stating, “We just did what any person would do in that same situation.”

The service demonstrated by Pat and Doug, truly defines our volunteers who are a corner stone of our mission Healing Experiences for Everyone All the Time®.

In 2022, Parrish Healthcare’s volunteers gave almost 10,000 hours to make a difference in other people’s lives.