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"We have lots of opportunities for people in the community to be involved," says Greg Martin, manager of Patient and Family Support Services for Vanderbilt-Ingram. "A lot of people can't come down here two hours a week, but they can do something that makes a difference, where everybody feels good about it in the end."
Cancer Center volunteers must go through an application and approval process that involves a background check, health record check and the administration of vaccinations if required. Volunteers must be at least 18 and must be able to commit a minimum of two hours a week to volunteer, Martin said.
National events might have contributed to a rise in volunteers, a federal study shows. From 2002 to 2005, basically right after 9/11 through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the number of volunteers nationwide increased by about 5.6 million. The study, released in 2006 by the Corporation for National and Community Service, shows that 65.4 million – 28.8 percent of American adults – volunteered in 2005, compared to 59.5 million in 2002.
In 2005, most volunteers were between 35 and 44, there were more women volunteers than men, and more were married than not.
The greatest percentage of volunteers in the U.S. volunteered through religious organizations (34.8 percent) with only 7.7 percent reported volunteering at hospitals or other health facilities.
Breaking the information down by state, Utah has the highest volunteer rate with 48 percent. Tennessee ranks very low – 41st – in the ranking with only 25.9 percent volunteer rate. However, when you look at median hours spent on volunteer activities, Tennessee does better. The state median volunteering hours ranged from 36 to 96, and Tennessee is in between, with 52.
Another recent study by the corporation shows that baby boomers are volunteering at higher rates than their predecessors, the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation, did at their age. Baby boomers were volunteering at lower rates than their predecessors while in their 30s, but that trend has reversed as they've grown older. The report also shows that the more often baby boomers volunteer, the more likely they are to volunteer again, and those who volunteer 12 weeks or more annually are most likely to serve year after year.
Six Vanderbilt-Ingram volunteers recently talked to Momentum about the gifts they give and receive by volunteering.
Ministering to many needs
Bob Richardson speaks softly as he walks down the halls of Vanderbilt Ingram's Henry-Joyce Cancer Clinic. Wearing neatly pressed khaki pants and a vest with a Vanderbilt-Ingram pin, the gray-haired, 80-year-old retired Presbyterian minister greets a patient who is pulling an IV down the hall. "Mornin', you OK?"
He pushes a steel cart with three carafes of coffee, cups, a nearly empty plate of donuts donated by a Nashville donut shop, and a
basket of bananas. It's nearly time to replenish the donuts, as he goes from room to room offering snacks. As he leaves each room, he tells the patients and visitors to "have a nice day."
For two hours nearly every Thursday morning for nearly the past decade, Richardson has pushed the cart and visited with patients. Some haven't had breakfast. They welcome the donuts and fruit. Others want to talk. "The food isn't as important as the visit in my judgment," Richardson says. "Many of our patients have friends or family members who come in with them. We're serving their needs as well as the patient's." Richardson never forces a patient to talk, but many welcome the opportunity. With years of pastoral experience behind him, he's a good listener.
"I saw a guy in here today who had gone into remission, but now has a breakout of tumors in his abdomen. He's back here for another round of chemo," Richardson says. "I sat down with him and talked to him to find out how he's doing. He was not prepared for this recurrence of cancer, and was pretty upset about it, trying to deal with it. I let him know I was thinking about him and that I care about him."
Richardson isn't one to leave his volunteer job behind at Vanderbilt-Ingram. It's with him every hour of the day. "I have a prayer list at home, and a number of the people I meet here are on it. I think it helps people when they know they're being prayed for."
Speaking words of wisdom
It's a quiet afternoon in the Cancer Clinic; not many patients waiting to be seen, but the ones who were there listen quietly as Anju Mammen plays the piano. The Vanderbilt University senior visits the clinic each Friday afternoon, playing by ear an assortment of Christian hymns, and easy-listening and contemporary music for the patients.
A male patient approaches Mammen quietly with a request, The Beatles' "Let it Be." "Will you just keep playing that over and over again?" he asks. And she does.
"When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is
standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be."
"Patients ask me to play songs all the time," says the Augusta, Ga., native. "Sometimes you just need to get your mind off things. It's soothing music and it relaxes me. I hope it does the same thing for the patients and their families."
Mammen started volunteering at Vanderbilt-Ingram after she heard about the Cancer Center's music program. Before she sits down at the piano in the clinic's waiting room, she makes sure that coffee is made and the snack supply is stocked. She plans to be a doctor, and feels that her volunteer time at the Cancer Center has prepared her well. "It's a great opportunity to get to know patients, to get used to patient interaction," she says. "These are the sweetest patients. The staff is amazing. They make every day I volunteer easy. I've loved it."
Mammen says that although she is a busy college student, it hasn't been hard to find the time to come to the Cancer Center every week. "It's only two hours in my week."
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