Thursday Thoughts – Volunteers are Priceless!

Volunteers are priceless!  We simply cannot attach a value to the time and effort that they spend helping our Integrity Healthcare Communities.  The value of volunteer time is incomprehensible!  Could we attach an hourly wage to their time?  Sure, we could.  We know they come and go at certain times.  We can log the time they spend painting, crafting, sweeping, gardening, talking, singing and maybe even dancing with our residents.  We know what we pay our employees to do those things.

What we do not know is the value of the ‘heart’ being poured into this volunteer time and effort. Thomas Jefferson believed that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good for another person. Just try to put a price tag on that pleasure. When we put our heart and soul into a volunteer project, we cannot measure the pleasure derived from that effort! We gain immeasurable personal pleasure, but the recipient of our efforts probably gains even greater pleasure.  Try to measure that!

Aristotle asked, “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”  Does goodness have a price tag?  No!  We simply cannot tell how much positive impact is created by a volunteer’s goodness dedicated to one or all of our residents. Pleasure and goodness all rolled together are certainly treasured … but they cannot be measured!

Integrity Healthcare of Godfrey enjoys the services of many volunteers, but Georgia Maneke has been spending lots of time working on the patio and surrounding flower beds.  The residents love this spot, and now it is even more inviting!  An artist has been at work!  Look how sweet the little Dutch boy and girl look with a fresh coat of paint. When it is too cold for real flowers to grow, we’ll just enjoy of flowers that are ‘growing’ on the fence!

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill

This is so true.  We wouldn’t attempt to place a value on Mrs. Maneke’s volunteer work. She spends lots of time with us; shares her wonderful talents with us; and pours her heart into everY project she undertakes.  We cannot weight these things.  We cannot measure these things.  We can, however, say “Thank You” and we can sing her praises!  Georgia Maneke is a very important member of the family at Integrity Healthcare of Godfrey.  She helps us provide Care You Can Trust and we are grateful.