Volunteer Spotlight: Elizabeth McGill

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Name: Elizabeth McGill

How long have you been a volunteer?
Two years.

What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer?
Patient care in the Care Center, events, the We Honor Veterans program, and My Nest is Best program.

What made you decide to become a volunteer?
Going up and down Newburgh Road to church and that…I kept wanting to volunteer, but I never ventured out until Father Jim over at St. Edith’s was looking for volunteers for the church, and he said, ”What are you waiting for?“ All I could remember was, “What are you waiting for?” It gave me the push.

My friend Debbie, from St. Edith’s, she’s a volunteer [at Angela Hospice] so I said, “Do you think you could get an application?” She said, “Sure.” So that’s where it started. I took the classes and then I started with being a feeder.

Elizabeth volunteers in the Care Center, where
she helps feed patients.
What is your favorite part about volunteering?
I would say everything really…helping the patients, and if you’re not helping the patients, all the other stuff intertwines where you’re helping them or their families. It has a benefit towards them.

Like the Tree of Life, you go and volunteer for that, but it’s giving back to the patients and their families. It’s just a never-ending circle.

What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering?
There are so many. There was one patient who had dementia…They can be a little bit more demanding than you might understand, but if you were in that situation you would probably be the same. It was a learning experience on my part.

There was also a woman in the Care Center who was here for a while who was very nice. She always wanted to know what was going on outside her little room, not just what was on TV. She was very nice because I would always have a conversation with her. But even if they can’t talk, I enjoy it.

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