Volunteer Spotlight: Michele McElroy

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Name:  Michele McElroy

 How long have you been a volunteer?
I have been volunteering with Angela Hospice for the past 6 years.

What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer?
I am currently making weekly companionship visits to hospice patients with dementia in local nursing and memory care facilities.  I also help with mailings as needed, and I have volunteered in the Care Center and with the grief support meetings.

What made you decide to become a volunteer?
I have a background in social work and have always been interested in helping others.  Working part time and having older children has given me the chance to use my time for volunteer opportunities.

Why Angela Hospice?
Angela Hospice is such a special place to me.  Not only do they provide an in-depth training for their volunteers, they continue to provide their volunteers with training and support throughout the year.

My family has also used Angela Hospice for home care with several of my family members.  These experiences initially drew me to Angela Hospice when I was able to see firsthand, with my grandfather, how they can assist a family when a loved one chooses to spend their time at home with a terminal illness.  The level of care and the way it is delivered with such respect and dignity impressed me and made this experience a sad but beautiful time in my family’s lives.  We recently lost my father-in-law and having him at home with the services Angela Hospice provided to our family enabled us to care for him in the comfort of his own home, surrounded by family which is exactly what he wanted.

Michele enjoys making weekly visits 
to patients in nursing facilities.
What is your favorite part about volunteering?
My weekly visits are some of the highlights of my week.  Getting to visit someone who may not have any other visitors and just doing a simple activity such as looking at a magazine, playing a game or listening to music gives both of us an opportunity to just be and connect on a most basic human level.  Even if dementia has taken their memory and sometimes even their voice, enjoying music and feeling the sunshine on your face is a simple pleasure anyone can enjoy, and I am so glad that I can provide these opportunities for some of the people Angela Hospice serves.

 What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering?
There was one woman that I used to visit in a nursing facility that had lost her ability to communicate.  She did not have much family support and lived in a nursing facility.  We spent as much time as we could outside in the courtyard that spring and summer enjoying the sunshine and the birds whenever I went to see her.  It was noted that she enjoyed opera music, so I used Pandora on my phone to play music for her.  On one occasion, I told her I had to go soon.  She grabbed my hand, and, in that moment, I knew she was enjoying our visit as much as I was.  We sat while she held on to my arm and listened to music for a little bit longer that day.



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