#AtoZchallenge Quality Volunteers are Worth Celebrating

Volunteer Recognition Day

A quality volunteer shows up when they say they will and is dedicated to the assigned task. They don't ask for thanks, but today they should get it anyway.

Any volunteers to get a VHS tape to turn into a YouTube video?
I'm only partly joking.
I was a "Big Helper in Action" on Nickelodeon's "The Big Help" in 1995. I'm Hospital Volunteer Girl!
The Internet seems to only recall celebrities and only has ads about getting trees planted and parks redone. But, at least that year, it was about volunteering in your community in any way you could. There were 30-second commercials that offered ideas. I'm certain of this because I made one. My friend Megan filmed it. My friend and fellow volunteer, Logan, was in some of it with me. I have a copy buried in the VHS library. I wish I could share it with you today because maybe it'd inspire you.

Volunteering at the hospital was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I gave over 600 hours, all by pure choice (my school did not require volunteer work, or offer an incentive for it). I was in several transport areas, where we helped move patients (usually wheeling people to the exit after discharge), delivered flowers from the front desk to patient rooms, or ran urgent samples to the lab (before the pneumonic tubes were installed). I also volunteered on a floor, which involved getting water for everyone twice a shift and answering phones. Plus, I was in radiology, where I put away X-rays in the alphabetical-color-coded filing rooms. I made lots of friends and got a free meal for every few hours I was there. (Contrary to popular belief, our hospital cafeteria was filled with yummy goodness. Doctors eat there. People who could afford five-star food ate there because it was pallet pleasing.) Plus, I came away with vast knowledge and life experience. My resume and college applications always carried that extra gold star.

Have you ever volunteered for something? Do you know a volunteer you can thank today?

The holidays of April is my #AtoZchallenge Theme.

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