In honor of National Volunteer Week, UpliftedCare is celebrating all of our truly amazing volunteers! Your contributions to our mission and our patients and their families is priceless. Know that what you do truly matters and cannot be measured. Here’s just a few testimonials that reflect the gift you have given others with your compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and time.

Before the pandemic, we had a veteran patient who was withdrawn and nonverbal. One of our therapy dogs would sit next to him, head on the arm of the patient’s chair. The veteran lit up, moved his hand to pet the dog, and called the dog “Bingo”. Bingo was the name of his childhood dog, according to his family. The comfort these dogs and their volunteers provide has been sorely missed throughout the pandemic. They are a selfless and very necessary comfort for our patients.

Our office volunteer, Nancy, is the best! She is always willing to come in extra if we need her. She helps with medical records faxing and filing, keeping our department running smooth. And our other volunteer, Kathy, makes copies for us which is a huge time saver. Both ladies are so appreciated for their time and talents! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Diane E.

Joan was missed very much during the pandemic. Her warm smile and caring support are so needed. She is a true friend to our patients. Thank you for all you do!

My facility patient just loves his volunteer! He always tells me how he looks forward to his volunteer visit every week. Thank you for “uplifting” my patient!

I enjoy having our volunteers work with us. I have witnessed them at the bedside of patients, ensuring that patients are not alone, especially near the end of their lives. Volunteers have also been helpful to me in creating special items for support group members, and I truly appreciate that. They have also taken time out to welcome guests at the Grief Center and to ensure that clients are kept informed. Thanks to all of our volunteers – you are gems.

Earlier this year, we had a patient who grew up in France and moved to the US as a ‘war bride’ after World War II. In her time as a patient with us, we were told that, due to multiple factors, she tended to be withdrawn, isolated, and didn’t like to visit. At the request of her family we tried a volunteer. Knowing that woman was of French heritage, our volunteer arrived to her room and introduced herself in French. From that moment, the patient lit up, opened up, and enjoyed her visits, even asking the volunteer to return again as soon as she could. What a gift that volunteer gave, bringing such joy to her patient’s final days, and giving her something to look forward to. It was humbling to witness.

A few years ago, I remember walking down the hall at a facility, and one of the volunteers was sitting with a patient who was very near the end. The patient had no family, but the volunteer treated him like his own family. He held the patient’s hand, offered words of comfort, cooled his head with a compress, and was with him when he took his final breath. That patient left this world knowing he wasn’t alone. Watching the compassion and care that volunteer demonstrated is a memory that will always stay with me.

Our office volunteers make such a difference to our staff. They take care of duties that would be hard for us to get done on busy days. Thank you for all you do!

I want to give a shout-out to our volunteer, Diane P. I have always seen her so devoted and dedicated to her duties. You can feel that she loves being here and what she is doing. Regardless of what’s happening in her world, she is still here (smiling and dedicated as ever) in her job. I really appreciate all volunteers including those that help in the office. Every single one contributes to why UpliftedCare is so great!

All I can say is wow. Our volunteers have left me speechless. They go above and beyond and serve our organization in such truly amazing ways. Our bereavement volunteers hold a special place in my heart. I now know all of the amazing work they do at and for our grief center. I honestly cannot thank them enough because I don’t know what we’d do without them. You are all so special and I hope you know how much you are appreciated!

My patient enjoys her volunteer visits immensely! She is in a long-term-care facility and doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to socialize. Her volunteer comes every week and they play cards. My patient talks about it each time I visit. Her family is very appreciative, and they tell me how she tells them often about the card games with the volunteer, saying their visits are never rushed and she feels like the volunteer is enjoying it too!

Our volunteers are compassionate, caring people who give freely of their time to improve the lives of our patients, their families and our outreach efforts at UpliftedCare by providing many hours of work on a variety of office and other tasks. Thank you all!!

I have witnessed several interactions between our patients and their volunteer, Jerry. He converses and laughs with the patients and his actions display genuine care. Jerry truly uplifts patient spirits. His smile is contagious, and our patients love him!

When I was doing a patient visit at a facility recently, the facility staff told me what a great guy we have in our volunteer, Steve. One of the patients Steve visits has been watching golf on TV, and recently told the volunteer how much he would love to learn how to play. At their next visit, the Volunteer showed up with golf clubs. After the visit, the patient was so happy, and while he feels that he is “too old” to play, he just loved being able to touch a golf club. That volunteer made his day.