Debbie R. Hoopes, Volunteer Manager, Lutheran Hospice-Upstate SC
When the topic of volunteering comes up, perhaps most people primarily think about how these activities will help an individual in need or support a worthy cause. From well over a decade of managing volunteers, I also consider how these interactions transform those who graciously give their time and therefore improve our community. I’ve seen people grow. I’ve seen perspectives change. My own perspective has broadened and deepened through the joy and privilege of serving in hospice. Joy, during the latter stages of life? Yes, joy!
Hospice volunteering is honest-to-goodness life training. Such volunteering blesses individuals, families, and loved ones as they come face-to-face with realities of life and death. In addition to helping others deal with practical problems during these precious times, hospice volunteers experience beauty and joy by being joined together with the lives of others. These personal connections help us see life more clearly. Volunteers gain insight into their own lives. It really is life training – for people of all ages.
In deciding to volunteer in hospice, one chooses to enter the valley – to join with someone else’s walk. Volunteers choose to be present, to listen, and to hear what is most important today. In small-but-significant ways, volunteers help make the day the best that it can be. How do hospice volunteers do this? By focusing on the living – choosing to honor someone because of that person’s intrinsic value. This is a special time: the volunteer gives to another person with no strings attached, with no ulterior motives, just to celebrate life. Through gifts of a smile, holding a hand, listening to a story – maybe for the third time – the volunteer brings life to the living.
Entering the valley alongside a loved one can be difficult, painful, and overwhelming. As volunteers join in, they give family and friends relief. By contributing time, volunteers give everyone involved time for reflection and revitalization. You see, in hospice, time is often regarded with confusion and disdain. “How much time do I have?” “Why can’t there be more time?” Volunteers ease this burden by bringing personal commitment and joy to the time at hand.
This is often where a hospice volunteer begins to gain new perspectives: on how precious time is. It is easy to take time for granted. It can be expedient to avoid prioritizing decisions. It can be sensible to just take things as they come. But, joining with the lives of those who are walking through the valley can bring profound insight into how we value time. Some of these insights affect our thinking deeply and yet seem inaccessible through mere intellectual consideration. Joining with the living brings knowledge about life.
Truly, volunteering in hospice helps us to focus on what we consider most important for this day – a great life skill for all! We enter the world and lives of others. We see life scenarios played out in real time.
Hospice volunteering builds a community that is prepared for living life with joy.
