Volunteer Spotlight: Marilyn Ling

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Name:  Marilyn Ling

How long have you been a volunteer? Over 10 years

What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer?
I sing in the choir. We meet the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. We try to sing patriotic songs, and uplifting music for the patients and their friends and family that come to visit. I also spend time helping out with the mailings. In the past, I’ve helped out with the desserts at the volunteer dinner. I did that for a couple years.

What made you decide to become a volunteer?
Both my parents were in hospice care, and I just wanted to give back. My mom was in hospice around 25 years ago. Back then the whole concept of hospice was a little new, but our family really embraced it. I wanted to get involved and volunteer, and that lead me to Angela Hospice.

Why Angela Hospice?
I chose Angela Hospice because I am a resident of Livonia.

Marilyn Ling and fellow volunteer Kathryn Trudeau
singing in the Care Center as part of the
Angela Hospice choir.
What is your favorite part about volunteering?
I really enjoy the choir. People really like the music and sometimes patients and their families join in and sing with us. We will often ask the patients if they have a favorite song, and we will add that to our music book. Especially the men and women who have done military service, we will try and play their armed service song, and interact with them that way.

What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering?
I also used to sell raffle tickets, in the summer time, for the Light Up a Life Gala. One day it had started to rain so we had decided to pack up and I looked over and there was a lady standing there. I asked her if there was anything I could help her with before we pack up. She asked what we were doing and I told her that we were with Angela Hospice and we were conducting a fundraiser. She went on to say that her son had just passed away this morning from throat cancer and that she just didn’t know what to do. So I gave her the number to our bereavement program so she could talk to somebody. I thought, now this is how you can really give back to the community and help people out. I think the main thing that people don’t always realize is that at Angela there is no charge for bereavement services or to talk to a social worker. Angela has so many amazing programs to help families get through these difficult times.  

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