Volunteer Services

Volunteer Profiles and Statistics

Volunteer Profiles

Statistics

Current Volunteers – 291

# of Volunteers in 2011 - 596

# of hours Volunteered in 2011 – 52,763

Volunteer applications received since January 2012 – 384

Volunteers accepted since January 2012 – 140

Average Age – 27

Oldest Volunteer – 87 years young

Youngest Volunteer – 16 years old

Average length of commitment – 14 months

Longest length of volunteer service –32 years

Employment – 21% volunteers work full or part-time

Summer Volunteers in 2011 – 70

Volunteer Profiles

“I am honored to work in a facility with such great staff members, extraordinary fellow volunteers, and exceptional patients that truly appreciate all that we do here at BMC. I admire seeing the happy faces on the patients and staff for the small things that I do for them. I am glad to be a part of such a wonderful group. Words can not describe the feeling I get when helping others. I have been a volunteer at BMC for over 5 years and I plan on being here forever.”  

Jorge Gonzalez
BMC Volunteer
Special Projects

“I have been an inpatient pediatric volunteer for 16 years, first with the Reach Out and Read program and more recently as a "hugger", spending time with infants who are not yet able to go home. At any age, a child who is sick and away from home is glad to have a friend who can share a story or a lullaby. Our outstanding nurses appreciate having a volunteer tend to a young patient's social needs so they can attend more closely to often complex medical needs. Sometimes my visit to Pediatrics is calming, sometimes exhilarating, but usually my time at BMC is the best part of my day.”

Margaret Sullivan
BMC Volunteer
Department of Pediatrics

“I am a former public accountant looking to change careers and become a physician. I volunteer as a patient greeter in Boston Medical Center’s Emergency Department to gain hands-on experience working alongside doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, to interact with patients, and to better understand the health care system.

Boston Medical Center serves patients from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of ailments. Because of that, each patient has different but specific needs.  I have learned that small accommodations often have a huge impact.  Taking the time to listen to a nervous patient tell me about the three cats she has left at home, or wheeling a bedridden patient to the phone to call family, can make all the difference in that patient’s hospital experience.”

Ian Taggert
BMC Volunteer
Emergency Department

“To become a part of BMC Volunteering community is the best opportunity I ever had in my life. I work with the kids in the waiting areas, help them to do art projects and keep them occupied during the waiting time. When I started volunteering, I never realized that just a little of my time can make such a big difference in the kids. Doing different art projects help the kids gain self confidence and perseverance, to develop a sharing mentality and organized behavior and makes them artistically inclined. And more than anything, it helps the kids and their parents to overcome the anxiety and boredom, by effectively utilizing their waiting time.”

Thushara James
BMC Volunteer
Department of Pediatrics