VNA Hospice NWI shows its appreciation for volunteers at annual breakfast

VNA Hospice NWI welcomed both new and long-serving volunteers to Christ Lutheran Church on April 18 for the organization’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast. VNA’s volunteers help provide clients with the best days possible during end-of-life care, and showing gratitude for these efforts is something VNA is always looking to do.

“It’s really important that we find every opportunity that we can to thank them and to acknowledge the important role that they play. Most of the people in this room probably don’t want any kind of individual accolades. They do it because they care and they value hospice. Maybe they’ve had a hospice experience with their families, so they know the value of it, but it’s super important to us at the VNA to make sure that we thank our volunteers at every opportunity we can, that we find these opportunities like this, to celebrate them and to make sure that they know that they’re appreciated,” said President and CEO of VNA Hospice Bob Franko.

Volunteer Coordinator Alex Szopinski works closely with the hospice’s volunteers to provide everything from home visits for patients to support services for caregivers and their families. It’s through these volunteer efforts that VNA is able to help as many people as possible.

“Volunteers play a huge role. They’re the heart of our organization. They do everything from visiting with patients for companionship to helping around the office, answering phones and all sorts of tasks, pretty much everything,” said Szopinski. 

Breakfast included a range of favorite dishes and drinks as well as fun activities for volunteers to enjoy as they mingled with friends and family. Working in a caregiving capacity can be draining mentally, emotionally, and physically, so opportunities to relax and have fun are necessary to continued success.

In addition to the breakfast, VNA also recognized several long-serving volunteers for their service milestone achievements. Because of the fulfilling nature of VNA’s work, volunteers often hit double digits in their years of service.

Judy Bornstein has been supporting VNA for the past 18 years. She is proud to continue supporting VNA in its efforts to keep patients independent as they age with dignity.

“I have been with VNA Hospice as a volunteer for 18 years. I go and I visit the patients, wherever they are. I visit them, and I ask them if it would be of comfort to them if I sang a few old hymns. So most of the time, I stand by their bed and sing some of the blessed words of the old hymns, which gives them a great, dear comfort, and it comforts their family if they’re visiting as well. And so they call me the singing lady, and have for many years, but that’s what I do,” Bornstein said. “It gives me an amazing gift. I’m the one who’s blessed more than they are to be able, at my age, to still sing and have the energy and the enthusiasm and the ability and the desire to go and spend the last minutes and hours with people before they die, and to be able to sing to them is my gift that I’m given more than given to them.”

Learn more about VNA Hospice NWI’s services and volunteer opportunities at vnanwi.org.