WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — Big Bend Hospice is looking for volunteers to serve families in Wakulla County — and no medical experience is required, just an open heart.
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The organization will host an in-person volunteer orientation on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at its Wakulla office at 14 Medallian Lane in Crawfordville. Volunteers say hospice care isn't sad — it's rewarding to be there for families when they need it most.
Volunteer Cindy Heath, who has experienced hospice care from both a volunteering and family perspective, says being a part of it is an enriching experience.
"I would say that your life would be enriched by the people you'll meet and the experiences that you will share," Heath said.
Heath has been volunteering with Big Bend Hospice for nine months. She was inspired to sign up after her father, mother-in-law and father-in-law were all hospice patients. She says the volunteers who came in for her family made such a difference in their lives.
"It was very apparent that it was very good for my father to have someone come in that was new and that he could share with, and so I just wanted to be a volunteer to be that person," Heath said.
"Having someone come in that you know they were bed-bound, and having someone come in from the outside to work with them and talk to them and give them some more — it's almost a value of life," Heath said.
One of her favorite memories was when a volunteer asked her dad about his life.
"He remembered all these things that I remembered as a as a kid growing up, and experiences I had with him, and he was remembering all these things, and he was sharing these things with this volunteer, and it's like, wow," Heath said.
"He was sharing our life in his life, things that I'd forgotten about. He was sharing with this volunteer, and it was just very amazing, very amazing, to relive it myself," Heath said.
Heath says the importance of being a volunteer is to support both the patient and their family. Volunteers also provide support to caregivers simply by being present. Andrea Zinker, Big Bend Hospice's volunteer coordinator, says volunteers give caregivers a much-needed break.
"So volunteers are so important to patients and caregivers by providing that care of like giving the caregiver a break, letting them go out to their own doctor's appointments, run errands, go to the grocery store, or just get out of the house and just have a peaceful time to themselves," Zinker said.
If you wish to go to the orientation, you can click here.
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