“I Keep Coming Back” – Profile of a Volunteer’s Heart

“Being on the HNC team makes me feel a part of something. I have held a patient’s hand for two hours. Enabled weary caregivers to run errands, take a walk or simply lie down and rest. Helped an elderly man see himself for a few minutes as a youth in his snazzy Studebaker, not as a dying person.”

“Knowing I have made a difference is my reward. Above that, I have learned so much about my clients, life and myself.”

“My first patient was a crusty old Navy man. He didn’t want his disease and he didn’t want me. He had to accept the medical providers, but he refused to allow me in his room, so I sat outside where he could see me. I came back; same story. Next time I came, he let me sit in the room. When I came back again, he drew me closer; after that, he asked me questions and we began to talk. With grudging admiration, he said, ‘You keep coming back.’”

“He knew his doctor was there because he had to be, but I was there because I wanted to be. To him and to all of our HNC clients, a volunteer represents someone who truly cares.”

”That’s why I keep coming back.”