Honoring Our Volunteers During National Volunteer Week

Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice, an affiliate of Ohio’s Hospice, is celebrating National Volunteer Week, April 18-24. The not-for-profit hospice is grateful for the contributions of its volunteers and the work they do each and every day to support our staff in providing superior care and superior services to the patients and families we have the privilege of serving.

Volunteers provide a variety of services throughout the community. Visiting with patients, delivering supplies, assisting with office duties, and making keepsake items for patients and families are just a few ways volunteers donate their time. In addition, Veteran volunteers are a part of the American Pride® Veteran Care by Ohio’s Hospice by performing Veteran recognition ceremonies to honor the service of Veteran patients.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many volunteer activities were put on hold. However, volunteers provided support wherever they could to support the mission of Ohio’s Hospice and its affiliates while following COVID-19 guidelines. During the past year, volunteers across the state have written letters of encouragement to staff, sewn cloth face masks, crafted face mask extenders, decorated and delivered Christmas trees, made blankets for patients, decorated patient windows at long-term care facilities, made arrangements for personal protective equipment donations, and more.

Thank you to our volunteers for their continued support of our mission. Volunteers are truly the heart of hospice care.

We invite you take a moment to read about some of our volunteers at Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice and how they serve our mission. 

• Hugh Philip Barber has been a volunteer for more than 19 years. He became a volunteer after his mother-in-law was served by Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice. He volunteers as a massage therapist. He also is a Veteran volunteer through the American Pride program, and he is a part of a group to help children deal with grief. 

• Anna Colby has been volunteering for eight years. She provides office support, bakes, and makes memory bears. She enjoys delivering memory bears to families and knowing that people are comforted by being able to hold and hug the bears. 

• Carla Lawhun has been a volunteer for three years. She wanted to give back after her husband’s death. She provides office support, crafts, bakes, and visits with patients. Her favorite memory is visiting with a patient that reminded her of her grandfather. 

• James Vineyard has been a volunteer for 16 years because he wanted to better someone’s life. Through American Pride, he performs Veteran recognition ceremonies for Veteran patients in our care. He also makes outreach calls and visits with patients. 

• Rita Whip has volunteered for seven years because she wanted to give back to Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice after they cared for her husband, mother and father. One of her favorite memories as a volunteer is watching WWII DVDs with a WWII Veteran. 

If you would like to learn more about volunteering, click here.