The Lorax was a wise, uh, guy.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not.

Dr. Seuss knew in 1977 when The Lorax was published that it takes someone who cares a whole awful lot to make a difference in the lives of others.  That’s where our wonderful HPCCR volunteers come in.  In 2011, our volunteers gave over 32,000 hours of their time making things better for our patients, their families, and our staff.  What an awesome thing to celebrate!

And that’s just why National Volunteer Week was created.  This year, we celebrate volunteers nationally the week of April 15 – 21.  When you think about it, though, a week doesn’t seem nearly long enough to celebrate someone who has faithfully visited patients and assisted in the office for 30 years, like Paul Holmes.  Or a volunteer cosmetologist such as Marilyn McKissick, who provided 38 haircuts to our patients in their homes in 2011.  Or Joe Notaros, who for more than a year, picked up Ensure (weekly) for a patient who couldn’t get out of her house to get it herself.  How do you fit enough thank-you’s in just one week for people such as Cynthia Earls, who sat for hours holding the hand of a patient who couldn’t respond to her?

One week doesn’t even come close to being long enough to recognize all the good that is done by volunteers every day, but that’s what we have — one week.  And you know what?  Our volunteers are so humble, that they would tell you they “don’t do it for the recognition”, “don’t need to be celebrated”, “get more from their volunteer work than they give”.  But go ahead, say “thank-you” anyway, and not just this week, but every week!