VNA Hospice NWI serves over 600 people a day. From Hospice and Palliative Care, Grief Support services for adults and children to the Medical Guardian help button and a Meals on Wheels program, the impact of VNA services around the region is tremendous.
The VNA staff work tirelessly to ensure these essential services are available each day – but they can’t do it alone. Their team relies on an army of volunteers, who do everything from stuffing envelopes and labeling meal bags, to working directly with hospice patients and bereaved children, and delivering the meals. Maria Galka, Director of Development for VNA Hospice, said that the organization’s volunteers outnumber its staff by about five to one.
“Volunteers are so essential to our organization. Without them there would be no VNA,” she stated. “They see hospice patients in their homes and they deliver over 250 meals a day. We couldn’t do that without our volunteers. They’re people who come from all walks of life, who walk in with an open heart and willing hands, ready to serve.”
The daily meal deliveries are one of the most labor-intensive tasks at the VNA, and the volunteers’ efforts range from labeling meal bags, hand delivering meals, and simply talking to the seniors receiving the meal – whether that’s in-person or over the phone when making follow up calls. Their efforts keep costs low for seniors- just $6.50 a day for a hot lunch with a wellness check. A light supper is also available for an additional $2.60.
Volunteer Debbie Gorski spent a number of years delivering those meals before an illness made it impossible. Now, she works with a group of women to organize and label hundreds of bags each week – all set to be filled with meals for seniors across Porter County.
“Every little bit makes a difference,” Gorski explained. “You meet a lot of people who are impacted by what we do. You’ll hear someone say ‘oh, I get Meals on Wheels for my mom!’ It isn't even always about the food, sometimes it’s about that little bit of contact the recipient has with the volunteer. Sometimes they’re shut in and don’t have anyone around them. Volunteers really build a personal connection with everybody.”
Carolyn Simon, who has been a VNA Hospice volunteer for seven years, fills a similar role for the VNA’s hospice services – stuffing and mailing bereavement letters. Every Thursday she works across from fellow volunteer Nancy Whitlow, who calls Simon her mentor and they assemble letters that serve as essential messages of support for families working through their grief.
Simon’s time as a volunteer started out on a bit of a whim, having heard about the good work that the VNA does from a friend of a friend at a retirement party. Now, simply talking about the immense impact VNA Hospice’s support has on families moves her to tears.
“People will come up to me, in here and out on the street, and say how wonderful what we’ve done for them is,” Simon explained. “It’s hard to put into words. I’m choking up just talking about it. Knowing that I have these letters, I’ll take them to friends and family that have lost somebody and they’ll say thank you after reading and understanding it. Even if their family member didn’t go through VNA, we have things like grief support for anyone. They just need to call.”
Few volunteers see that impact on a closer level than Pat Muniz, who serves at the VNA’s Hospice Center – the organization’s inpatient facility. She helps the VNA nurses, works the phones and front desk, and sits and talks with patients, offering a shoulder to lean on whenever they need it.
“I’ve sat with patients, sat with families. Sometimes they’re crying and they just want someone to talk to,” Muniz said. “Sometimes you just give them a hug, when they need that little bit of extra support. The feeling that I can help someone in some way, someone that really wants help. That’s important.”
There is no way to truly thank the volunteers that give so much to those they serve. As a small token of appreciation VNA Hospice hosts an annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast where volunteers are honored for their years of service and receive awards for outstanding service. This year over 50 volunteers were recognized for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service, providing 200+ and 300+ hours of service, and having completed the Most Home Hospice Hours, Most Hospice Center Hours, Most Office Hours, and then 3 Volunteer of the Year awards were presented, including the Hospice Volunteer of Year, Angel of the Year, and the Art Tilton Meals on Wheels Volunteer of the Year. VNA Hospice is deeply appreciative of all time, treasure, and talents that the volunteers share to truly make Best Days Possible for those they serve.
If you are interested in joining this phenomenal group of volunteers, VNA Hospice is always accepting volunteers. To see a complete list of volunteer opportunities and to learn more about the organization, visit vnanwi.org/volunteer.