It’s one thing to work somewhere for a quarter century. It’s another to donate more than 1,000 hours of your time there each year.
That’s what Rose Yeske is doing. She’s well in to her 27th year volunteering at UConn Health. Through last month she had racked up more than 26,400 volunteer hours, more than any other active UConn Health volunteer. Over the years she’s served in several areas, including the procedures center, University Dentists, the attorney general’s office, the dental dean’s office, and the information desks in the main lobby and the University Tower.
“It’s rewarding to help others out and make them happy,” Yeske says. “And it makes you happy to cheer them up, to make someone else’s day better.”
This week, UConn Health is saluting Rose and all its volunteers, in recognition of the dozens of people who in a typical month collectively give more than 1,800 hours of their time for the betterment of the institution. National Volunteer Week 2019 is April 7-13.
The amount of UConn Health volunteers on duty in a given week will vary throughout the year based on availability and season. Last year, 171 volunteers gave more than 21,600 hours. To quantify the value of their one year of labor using an arbitrary hourly rate of $12, it adds up to nearly $260,000.
“We are so appreciative of our army of volunteers,” says Maria Santiago, who joined UConn Health earlier this year to oversee the volunteer operation. “We could not function without all of their dedicated spirits and selfless attitudes.”
UConn Health volunteers are fixtures at information desks in the main building, the University Tower, the Outpatient Pavilion and the UConn Musculoskeletal Institute.
Smiling, blue-jacket-wearing volunteers helping people with wayfinding or retrieving wheelchairs are a common sight. But over the years, at one time or another, UConn Health volunteers have provided support and assistance in areas including dental, research, outpatient psychiatry, microbiology, the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, patient relations, and even the morgue.
“Volunteers play such a significant role in the health care system,” Santiago says. “They support and help the hospital run smoothly, and allow staff and providers to spend their time focusing on delivering the best care for their patients.”
In a typical week, UConn Health benefits from 415 volunteer hours. Some volunteer for a few days a month, while others report daily, or close to it.
Departments that could use volunteer assistance should email marsantiago@uchc.edu to inquire about availability and to schedule. Those who are interested in learning more about volunteering, or who know someone who might be interested, also should email marsantiago@uchc.edu.
Each year UConn Health brings in additional volunteers, age 18 and younger, for the summer months. The application period for those temporary summer positions closes in February.
