Our SHN family would not be complete without our team of volunteers, who help us to provide exceptional care for patients and families across our health network. We appreciate our volunteers’ commitment to SHN every day ” and especially during National Volunteer Week, we thank them for the choice they have made to give back to their community.
Volunteers are Extraordinary
Under ordinary circumstances, volunteers are an amazing group of people who enable our health network to deliver a wide range of social, recreational, educational and supportive programs and services. We know these are extraordinary times, but we also know that volunteers are extraordinary people.
This will be the second National Volunteer Week (April 18 to 24), when we are missing our volunteers’ smiling faces and friendly voices at our hospitals. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our volunteers are staying at home to protect themselves, our frontline staff, and our patients. However, the work and legacy of their spirit still echoes through our hospital lobbies, halls, clinics, and units. Many of our volunteers continue to contribute from their homes through initiatives such as virtual pre-screening for our hemodialysis program, crafting, sewing, and supporting the vital work of our COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics as volunteer navigators.
Volunteers are critical in strengthening the social fabric of our network as well as our community of Scarborough. In non-pandemic times, they help with greeting patients and families; assisting with registration and way-finding; staffing our information desks and gift shops; providing patient support and navigation; departmental support; sharing their experiences and insights as patient family advisors to support hospital programs and initiatives; and fundraising for the Foundation.
Send a virtual thank you to our volunteers!
The theme for National Volunteer Week 2021 is: The Value of One, The Power of Many. This week we reflect on the awe-inspiring acts of kindness by millions of individuals AND the magic that happens when we work together towards a common purpose.
Although you may not be able to thank our volunteers in person this week, you can share your stories on social media about how volunteers have impacted your life and your community. Tag a special volunteer on social media using #VolunteersBringChange
Join us in cheering for all of Canada’s volunteers, and loudly and proudly thanking each and every one of our volunteers at SHN!