If you are interested in attending the February training sessions, please contact Lyman by Friday to fill out an application and to complete a pre-training interview.
Is it really better to give than to receive? Most people would say, “Of course. Of course it is better to give than to receive.” But why is that?
“Humans are social creatures and despite moments in our lives when we feel like we just want to be left alone, we rely on each other for our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being,” said Pearl Lyman, Hospice of Hilo volunteer and transitions manager.
Studies have shown that individuals living in a tight-knit, supportive community have better health and an overall greater sense of well-being. A community of this kind is made up of individuals willing to add to its fabric.
According to Lyman, “It’s in essence based on the understanding that as we give to the community, we are giving to ourselves. Also, there is an innate human feeling of satisfaction and joy that comes from giving, and it goes far beyond social recognition for the act.”
It is in this spirit that Hospice of Hilo is looking for volunteers willing to be a part of its team, providing compassionate end-of-life care and support to the East Hawaii community. The next set of Hospice of Hilo volunteer training sessions will be on Feb. 11 and 18.
“The easiest part about being a hospice volunteer is that there is nothing for the volunteer to do,” Lyman said. “Everything has already been done; our patients have made an educated and informed decision to allow the disease within their body to takes its natural course. The hardest part about being a hospice volunteer is that there is nothing for the volunteer to do. It is human nature to want to fix what we judge to be broken. We want to help ease their pain; we want to comfort them and let them know we understand what they are going through. But we don’t understand, for we have never worn their shoes.”
Despite the challenges, for some, volunteering is a tremendous gift.
“I always get more out of it than I put in,” says Susan Pauole, retired Hospice of Hilo nurse and present volunteer.
And according to former Hospice of Hilo volunteer Susan Teborek, “Being a hospice volunteer gave me a chance to participate in the best part of being a human; our compassion to love one another.”
Besides feeling wonderful, recent research conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the same organization that administers Senior Corp and AmeriCorp, has established a strong relationship between volunteering and health: Those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life.
So is it better to give than to receive? The answer is, “No.”
“Both are really one act — two sides of the same coin,” Lyman said. “Giving and receiving are the push and pull of the engine that drives our community forward. We are grateful for all the giving and receiving we witness, it uplifts us all, it uplifts life.”
To find out more about volunteering at Hospice of Hilo, call Pearl Lyman at 969-1733.
If you are interested in attending the February training sessions, please contact Lyman by Friday to fill out an application and to complete a pre-training interview.