Another way volunteering is demonstrated in the community is in the hospitals and nursing homes. There are many people who give up a little bit of their time each week to visit somebody who is sick or maybe just needs some companionship in a hospital or nursing home. These people bring smiles to faces that are normally gloomy. They tell stories that make terminal children laugh and forget about being sick for a while. They listen to the elderly patients reminisce about “the good old days.” They learn about life and death. Volunteers can make all the difference between a bad day and a good day. These volunteers find friends and memories that will always remind them how precious and short life really is.
Other ways people volunteer are by running food drives, working in soup kitchens and shelters, building houses for Habitat for Humanity, assisting handicapped people., and donating their services and talents to name a few. Volunteers are everywhere in the community, but there is always a need for more. There is always something that can be done to make somebody in need’s life or society in general better. Whether it is picking up garbage along a highway or becoming a teacher’s aide, event the slightest bit of help can make a difference.
In my experience, volunteering has been one of my fondest memories. During my time at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Pace Maker Department, I visited the hospital in Newark, New Jersey to help with an overcrowded office for a few hours each week. I worked with the doctors to file and coordinate minor details around the office. Each week I would look forward to the experience I would gain as I filed and answered phones. I met with some of the most prestigious M.D. in the medical field today, one being, Dr. Victor Parsonett, whom help create one of the very first pacemakers themselves. He is also, the donator of many charitable organizations around today and a chairman on the committee of NJPAC. While also in the office, I transported the patients to different areas of the hospital to further their rehabilitation. It was amazing to see their recovery and recouping and know that they were benefiting from something I was helping. I hope that for some I am a role model and they see just how important education and volunteering is and the difference each person can make.
In conclusion, volunteering makes a society grow and prosper. Working together as a community provides many services for many people in need. Volunteering saves people’s lives, helps people through difficult times, brightens days, and changed attitudes on life. Everybody who volunteers is successful in making some kind of a difference. How is this success measured? Ralph Waldo Emerson defines success,”…to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.” I definitely agree with Mr. Emerson and I believe that volunteering makes the world a little better one person at a time.