On Wednesday, April 13, 2016, Magee held a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon for the outstanding volunteers who have dedicated their time and skills to helping make Magee Rehabilitation Hospital run as efficiently as possible. In 2015, 327 volunteers gave 21,593 hours to Magee. Of these 327 volunteers, 198 are peer mentors and the remaining 129 are active volunteers. These volunteer hours represent the time and talents given by individuals and groups.
We celebrated the volunteers with a picnic style lunch and some special recognition from the different departments here at Magee that rely on volunteers to get everyday jobs done. We opened the luncheon with some remarks from Magee’s President and CEO Dr. Jack Carroll and Fred D’Angelo who is chair of the Hospital Board. They spoke about how volunteers are essential to Magee and expressed their thanks for all of the time that the volunteers dedicate to the hospital. Each year we ask employees to tell us about some of their outstanding volunteers at the luncheon. This year we were able to hear from four of our employees who gave special recognition to the volunteers who work in their department. Joann Rudi who is one of our Day Rehab Coordinators at our Riverfront location honored Cornelius “O” Baker for his dedication to their program. She described him as a firecracker of a worker because he is always so dependable and takes on any task given to him whether big or small. She couldn’t imagine what they would do without him at Riverfront. Robin Parry from our Concierge Services spoke about her volunteer, Lindell Lowe. She talked about the activities that Mr. Lowe helps with, especially pizza delivery to the patients. He came up with this activity on his own and has been doing it for quite some time now. He is always around to help out and cheers up patients if they need it. Venus Bradley from our Resource Center spoke about her two volunteers who helped start up the center on the second floor where patients can check their emails and browse their collection of books, CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks. She talked about each volunteer’s individual skills that help the Resource Center run efficiently. Last but not least, Tom Rodriguez who is our Dining Services Manager spoke about the countless number of volunteers that work in his department on a day-to-day basis helping to prepare meals for patients and staff throughout the building.
This year we were able to honor some volunteers who had gone far past the required amount of hours that you agree to when you become a volunteer. Barbara Hughes was especially recognized this year for her contribution of 21,000+ hours of volunteer service to Magee. We honored many volunteers whose hours ranged from 175 to nearly 4,000 individually. Many of the volunteers were Peer Mentors who have made a huge difference in the lives of our patients and their families. Magee would not be what it is today without the help of all of our volunteers.
Want to make a difference at Magee? Visit our website to learn about volunteer opportunities or fill out an application.
Photo: Volunteer Lindell Lowe and Concierge Robin Parry
Guest Author: Kali Brady, Drexel University Co-op, Guest Relations & Volunteer Services
