It's time to say thanks

Publication date: April 26, 2011

It was exactly a year ago, at the Ross Memorial’s Auxiliary Appreciation Tea, that I had a light bulb moment. Father Gary Davis was saying grace before our Tea began when something he said made me wish it was okay to run for a paper and pen. What Father Gary said in his prayer struck me immediately, and I knew in that moment what the theme of the 2011 Appreciation Tea would be.

This is what he said:

"This hospital has been built on the blood, sweat and backs of our citizens, especially our volunteers, each doing what they can do. These fine men and women have volunteered and sacrificed the most valuable human commodity - their time."

It occurred to me at that moment, that while I had been thanking the volunteers for the many services they provide to the hospital and our community, I had overlooked the greater gift - their time.

After all, there's nothing more precious.

There never seems to be enough of it. We're told to spend it wisely, and make it count, so that when you look back at it, you're happy with what you've done with it.

I think that deciding whether or not you've spent it well depends on how you measure it. Most of the time, we measure it by looking at our watches or clocks, but there are more important ways to measure time well spent:

*by the time it takes to help a visitor pick out a gift for her new grandchild
*by the smile given to a patient in the waiting room
*by the conversation that calms an anxious family member
*by a row of knitting on a baby blanket or the stitches in a quilt
*by selling a book of raffle tickets 
*by the time it takes to wheel a patient to church service
*by the smell of a new batch of muffins in the café
*or a question answered on the Info Desk

The partnership between the hospital and our volunteers is sure to stand the test of time. For more than 100 years, Auxiliary members have made a world of difference - to patients and their visitors, to physicians and staff.

The services they provide, both inside and outside of the building, could not be managed by staff members - not unless there were more hours in the day, which makes the Auxiliary a time machine of sorts.

They help us to accomplish so much more for patients and their families – every day.
They make our days better.

We sincerely thank our volunteers for spending their precious time with us. We value their gift, and we hope that when they look back, they feel that their time has counted.