Husband-and-wife volunteers give generously of their time to support the JGH

Joel and Jackie Silver help sustain a legacy of volunteering in the hospital and its Auxiliary

Every Tuesday, Joel and Jackie Silver have a standing date—not just with each other, but with the Jewish General Hospital.

After breakfast, they get in their car and take a brief drive from their Atwater Avenue home to the JGH.

There, after saying their goodbyes, they part ways: Mr. Silver heads to the main lobby, while Mrs. Silver walks to the long, ground-floor concourse near the Légaré Street entrance to Pavilion K.

Though separated by one floor and a few minutes by foot, the Silvers remain in sync through their feelings for the hospital—an emotion they express by giving of their time as volunteers.

In his distinctive blue volunteer’s jacket, Mr. Silver, 84, cheerily doles out directions and helpful information—along with a good number of off-the-cuff jokes—at the busy intersection of the lobby, the main corridor and the hallway to Pavilion K.

During the occasional lull, he also roams through the hospital in search of wheelchairs that he brings to the main entrance for arriving patients who are unable to walk.

“If this were Walmart, I guess you’d call me a greeter,” he says, “but there’s so much more to it than that. A lot of people come through the main doors—many of them in the hospital for the first time—and they make a beeline for me.

Jackie Silver welcomes customers to The Auxiliary’s Antiques and Collectibles Shop in the Pavilion K concourse. (Click on this or any photo to enlarge it.)

“They might be nervous or confused or upset, so it’s up to me to give them a smile, reassure them and point them in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, as a volunteer for The JGH Auxiliary, Mrs. Silver, 82, warmly welcomes customers to explore the treasures in the Antiques and Collectibles Shop, which features gently used china, silverware, crystal, paintings and other donated items.

“Making a sale to help The Auxiliary is always satisfying,” she says, “but it’s also enjoyable to meet so many different people. I feel good when I see them walking away with a purchase that really appeals to them.”

The types of tasks that the Silvers perform garner special attention when National Volunteer Week comes around—this year, starting on April 19. However, at the JGH, volunteering has been a year-round mainstay, ever since the hospital opened its doors in 1934 and The Auxiliary debuted in 1936.

Down through the decades, the JGH has attracted almost every conceivable type of volunteer—from couples like the Silvers to multi-generational relatives, former patients grateful for their exemplary hospital care, and students (some in high school, others in CEGEP) who “test the waters” as they ponder a career in the health sciences.“

“People like Joel truly embody the essence of what it means to be a volunteer,” says Marko Obradovic,” Chief of Volunteer Services for the JGH and CIUSSS West-Central Montreal.

“His patience and genuine humanity help patients feel heard and reassured, and they often leave with a renewed sense that the hospital is not a frightening place, after all. Volunteering is more than just showing up for a few hours a week; it’s about giving and commitment.”

At The Auxiliary, the contribution of many generations of volunteers is especially meaningful this year, as the organization celebrates its 90^th anniversary, says Executive Director Nancy Rubin.

“In the hospital’s earliest years, the funds raised by The Auxiliary’s dedicated volunteers played a significant role,” Ms. Rubin explains. “They allowed many crucial services to be launched and essential medical devices to be purchased.

“Since then, countless volunteers like Jackie Silver have been instrumental, each in their own way, in strengthening the legacy of generosity and selflessness that the hospital is known for today.”

Mr. Silver can be found fielding questions at his post on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Common queries—“Where’s the nearest washroom?” “Which way to the Test Centre?”—can be answered instantly, while others are a bit tougher.

“For instance,” he says, “someone might ask, ‘Where do I go for my appointment? It’s on the second floor.’ Well, that’s a problem, because there are second floors in at least half a dozen pavilions across the hospital. Fortunately, the main Security desk is nearby, so the visitor can ask them to look up the correct pavilion, and I fill in the rest.

“When I’m finally able to explain to them how to get to their destination, people are usually very appreciative, and that gives me such a good feeling.”

Joel Silver provides directions to visitors in the main corridor, near the Côte-Sainte-Catherine Street lobby.

It was just two years ago that Mr. Silver became a volunteer, having retired from his job as a salesman for a supplier of home furniture and mattresses. By that point, Mrs. Silver was already volunteering at The Auxiliary, so Mr. Silver decided to follow her example.

But before taking the path that would eventually lead him to giving directions, Mr. Silver needed directions of his own.

He had last visited the JGH 60 years earlier for an operation on his Achilles tendon, so he was taken aback when his wife told him he’d find the Volunteer Services office in the corridor just past the Pavilion B elevators.

“You can’t go past those elevators,” he insisted. “There’s a wall there.”

“Not any more there isn’t,” she said, referring to the hallway to Pavilion K that was completed in 2016.

Mr. Silver says that walking repeatedly around the JGH taught him what he needed to know about the highlights of hospital’s geography, especially the locations of the most commonly requested departments and clinics.

When Mrs. Silver joined The Auxiliary in the mid-2010s, she arrived as a seasoned volunteer, having given of her time for many years at Donald Berman Jewish Eldercare, including serving as Co-President of the facility’s Auxiliary. When the Eldercare Auxiliary closed, she moved a few blocks east to the JGH.

She now spends about 3½ hours on Tuesday mornings at the Antiques and Collectibles Shop, surrounded by sparkling heirlooms in need of a new home. “I was fairly familiar with these kinds of items before I started,” she says, “but I’ve picked up quite a bit of knowledge along the way.”

Mostly, the merchandise goes out the door in the hands of new owners, but articles of all sorts are also brought into the shop by donors for other members of The Auxiliary to evaluate and set a price.

While the Silvers don’t usually cross paths during a shift, they say they’re happy knowing they’re both there to offer help and add a touch of warmth in their respective locations.

“I guess you could say that when Joel and I are in the hospital on Tuesday mornings, we’re in separate worlds,” Mrs. Silver says. “That may be true up to a point, but at the same time, we’re still there together.”