Join us in celebrating our incredible team of volunteers this National Volunteer Week! As generous people from our everyday lives—parents, siblings, neighbours and friends—who give their time to make an extraordinary difference, volunteers are essential to supporting the health and wellness of our community.
Volunteers play a role in shaping patient experience and providing all kinds of support to the many programs and departments across the Hospital. But that’s not the only way they give back. Volunteers at the Hospital can also help in places like the Gift Shop or the Resources Support Centre, and they also volunteer their time and support from their homes and in the community.
But no matter how they give, there is one thing all of our volunteers have in common: they each have a profound impact, not just on the Hospital, but on the community at large.
To start the week, we are proud to share the new volunteer program branding as seen below. Volunteers are integral to supporting all Areas of Care. That’s why we chose to overlay the colourful lotus, which represents Grand River Hospital’s Areas of Care, with volunteer-specific branding.
We first introduced the Areas of Care with the release of our
125 Signature Book last fall. To make it easy for supporters of all kinds to ensure their support of the Hospital reflects their experiences and priorities, we defined eight distinct Areas of Care that encompass the health services the Hospital offers: Cancer Care, Grand River Kids, Mental Health, Kidney Care, Continuum of Care, Emergency Care, Patience Experience and Learning + Innovation. Each petal of the lotus represents a different Area of Care and features the corresponding colour.
Review a complete list of the Areas of Care and see which departments and hospital services are a part of each.
A few of our volunteers have also been generous enough to share their stories about what it’s like to be a volunteer at Grand River Hospital, why they enjoy volunteering, and how volunteers make a difference in the Hospital and our community! We will be sharing these stories on our website and social media platforms throughout National Volunteer Week, before putting together a recap that will be featured in next week’s e-newsletter.
We also opted to mark the occasion by bringing back the story of Catherine and Don Landry, also originally from the 125 Signature Book. Written by their son Eric Landry, this is a touching story about two dedicated volunteers with a personal connection to Grand River Hospital who left a gift to the Hospital in their Will.
Thank you so much to each and every one of our volunteers for their dedication to Grand River Hospital. You truly make an incredible impact, and we are proud to celebrate you and all of the ways you make our Hospital and community better.
Learn more about Grand River’s volunteer program.