Volunteers praised for their dedication to users of health care and social services

Meeting at JGH caps CIUSSS-wide activities during National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week came to a rousing conclusion on April 20, as dozens of volunteers from across CIUSSS West-Central Montreal gathered at the Jewish General Hospital to celebrate their achievements and look ahead to the future.

The meeting capped several days of activities at various CIUSSS sites, where the Department of Volunteer Services arranged yoga sessions, organized games, and distributed lanyards, pins, coffee and assorted treats.

Thank-you cards were also distributed to members of staff, who were encouraged to write personalized messages to specific volunteers as an expression of gratitude.

More than 550 volunteers across the network perform a wide range of tasks, thereby freeing up staff to tend to more urgent duties. Volunteers check patients’ paperwork, assist in artistic and musical programs, provide support during certain types of therapy, steer visitors in the right direction, and much more.

“Every job is meaningful, every task makes a difference, and every effort is appreciated—all the more so, because everything that you do is a voluntary act of the heart,” Lucie Tremblay, the CIUSSS’s Associate CEO told those at the meeting.

“Our CIUSSS and its member-facilities are known throughout Montreal for the warmth, loyalty and dedication of our volunteers,” Ms. Tremblay said. “Through your involvement, you are maintaining a proud tradition whose roots go back almost a century.”

According to Marko Obradovic, Chief of Volunteer Services:

• Approximately 210 volunteers are on duty at the JGH, 215 in the CIUSSS’s long-term care facilities and 130 in its rehabilitation centres.
• The youngest volunteers are high school students as young as 16, while the oldest are retirees in their 80s.
• About half of the volunteers at the JGH are under the age of 25.

“It’s very encouraging to see so many young people stepping forward,” says Mr. Obradovic. “As health care and social services evolve, we want to be sure a new generation of volunteers will continue to make our CIUSSS a leader in this area.”