VNSNY Celebrates National Volunteer Week

Sending heartfelt thanks to our generous volunteers and volunteer interns!

Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” As we salute National Volunteer Week, from April 18th through April 24th, it’s an apt concept. This week is also a time for VNSNY to celebrate the 258 individuals who supported our mission by donating their services to programs across the organization in 2020.

“From administrative support and fundraising to patient outreach and sourcing PPE, volunteering during this pandemic year has looked quite different from years past, with volunteers and volunteer interns pivoting from in-person activities to remote work,” says Michael Ambrosini, Director of Community Corporate Relations for VNSNY’s Volunteer Services.

“Providing a total of 12,970 service hours over the past year, VNSNY’s volunteers, including our fundraising volunteers, showed incredible diligence, generosity, and flexibility,” adds Naomi Bibbins, Manager of Volunteer Services. “They made a very real difference during very challenging times.”

Volunteer contributions in 2020 included sourcing a whopping 200,000-plus PPE donations—valued at $1.7 million—to protect our staff and patients, constructing more than 8,000 homemade masks, crafting handwritten greeting cards to comfort and cheer on our staff and clients alike, conducting phone and video visits with patients, providing emotional support by facilitating meditation and mindfulness events, and knitting beautiful lap blankets for VNSNY’s “We Honor Veterans” program—just to name a few.

“What do you need?  How can I help?”

“Our volunteers are so generous and compassionate,” says Hospice Volunteer Manager Kimberlyn Kinlock. “I’m always impressed by the time and energy they commit to supporting our patients and staff, but their response to the pandemic was truly remarkable. From the very beginning, their first questions were ‘What do you need?’, ‘How can I help?’, and ‘Are you okay?’” These weren’t just empty words, she notes. “Our volunteers then followed through in practical ways. This past year, more than any other, has made it clear that volunteering isn’t just something they do, but something motivated by a deeply held sense of service and caring for others.”

Helping to Bring a Heartfelt Tribute to Light

Abby Stellpflug, a dedicated hospice volunteer since 2019, teamed up with a VNSNY hospice patient on a unique artistic endeavor. “The patient built a box out of 4,000 popsicle sticks, adorned with hourglasses and other symbolic patterns, which he filled with N95 masks, hand sanitizers, and other items that represent the fight against COVID, as well as a beautiful letter of thanks to doctors, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers,” says Abby. “It was a heartfelt tribute to all of these workers, and he very badly wanted to get it out into the world somehow to show his gratitude. We knew it was important to him, so we did a lot of brainstorming together to bring the project to light. I ended up creating a poster and digital graphic featuring images of the box, which was shared across VNSNY’s social media platforms. I also reached out to local media outlets and hospital promotional publications to try and have the poster shared there, too.”

“A Great Way to Open Your Eyes”

As anybody who has done it knows, volunteering is every bit as beneficial to the person doing it as to those being served. “It’s a really great way to open your eyes to something you might never have considered before,” explains Nora Vargas, a volunteer intern with Shannon Whittington, Director of VNSNY’s Gender Affirmation Program. The manager of a vegan deli on the Lower East Side, Nora adds that she also gained an increased sensitivity from her experience. “We now have a store policy whereby we always ask customers for their name, because you never know who might be going by a different name from what’s on their credit card. It’s really increased my awareness about the different ways in which our society might not be accessible to trans people in a way that they deserve.”

Gaining Confidence, Thanks to Hands-on Training

Yanilza Almonte, who interned with Diana Quintanilla, Administrative Coordinator, ESPRIT Medical Care, found the experience provided valuable on-the-job training. “I went to Lehman College for my B.S. degree in health administration, and I’ve picked up some great skills while volunteering that will really help me when I’m applying for jobs,” she says. “Going in, I didn’t have any experience in the medical field. I’ve since learned so many aspects of the business, such as the different systems used for creating charts, and I now understand what the different roles and departments entail. I gained a lot of confidence thanks to all the hands-on training.”

Helping Veterans Learn about Their Benefits

“Volunteers are the best-kept secrets in the workforce,” says VNSNY Home Care Veterans Liaison Christopher Webster. “They take their willingness, excitement, and drive to assist people and put it into the time they dedicate to volunteering.”

Sandra Paul, a business administration major and one of Chris’s volunteers, felt she wanted to work for a not-for-profit organization because she wanted to make a tangible difference, and her volunteering experience cemented that career goal. “It was great being able to help veterans and their families learn about benefits they might not have known were available to them,” she says. “I’m not from a military veteran background and I wasn’t sure whether that would hinder me, but this was a way for me to say thank you for your service. So when I found out I would be working with veterans, I jumped at the opportunity.”

Volunteer Alexa Ashton, also a business major, reaped tremendous rewards from her own experience with the Home Care Veterans program. “I thought I wanted to do something entirely independently, because working on a team seemed a bit intimidating and working with clients and patients seemed scary—but now I know I can work well in a team, and my customer-service skills have improved dramatically,” says Alexa. “It was the confidence and the encouragement from Chris and the rest of the team that really helped me see this in myself.”

Chris agrees. “When Alexa and Sandra came to VNSNY to volunteer, they had no experience with the veteran community, let alone with any of the myriad of benefits and entitlements that the veteran or their spouse are entitled to. In this time, they have become true advocates for veterans, and they’ve made tremendous impacts with the clients and families as well.”

Know somebody who’d be interested in VNSNY volunteering opportunities? Click here to find out how you can connect them with an unforgettable experience that will also leave an indelible impact on others: https://www.vnsny.org/giving/volunteer/

2020 VNSNY Volunteers at a Glance: