For National Volunteer Week, we\u2019re celebrating MultiCare volunteers and the special work they do for our patients and communities.<\/p>\n
Many of the volunteers at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital<\/a> are local people looking to give back to their community.<\/p>\n There\u2019s one unique group of volunteers, though, who are far from home when they come in for their shifts every Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n Caleb Koehn and his family moved to Washington from Kansas in April 2018 to lead a one-year service project through the Christian Public Service organization. Caleb leads a handful of young men through various community service projects throughout the Seattle-Tacoma area. He, his wife and their two children live with the groups, which rotate every six months. They spend their days working together for one shared mission: to do good for others.<\/p>\n The group currently living with Caleb includes four volunteers who are all visiting from different parts of the country. Trent is from Kansas, Colby and Devern are from Mississippi, and Wyatt is from Iowa. They\u2019re well known by patients and staff throughout the hospital. They help with everything from transporting patients in their hospital beds after surgery, to stocking equipment, to delivering mail and more.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things I like most is getting to help out in the rehabilitation center,\u201d Trent says. \u201cWhen a patient tries to stand up during a physical therapy session and I follow behind them with a wheelchair, I think it makes them feel better knowing I\u2019m there to catch them if they fall.\u201d<\/p>\n They all agree that volunteering is something everyone should try, especially for young adults.<\/p>\n \u201cTo some people it might seem like you\u2019re not getting anything out of it because you\u2019re not getting money to do it, but really, you get a lot in return in other ways,\u201d says Devern. \u201cYou know you\u2019re giving your time to people who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n When Pat Mattoon moved to Puyallup in 2006, she was looking for a way to meet new people and make friends outside of her neighborhood.<\/p>\n She found both by becoming a MultiCare volunteer, and she\u2019s been part of the team for the past 13 years.<\/p>\n Mattoon started out with Grannie\u2019s Attic sorting and pricing items, and eventually became the lead for organizing all donated linens. Then she switched to volunteering in the Celebrate Seniority office where she answers phones, returns calls and helps take blood pressure for people who participate in Celebrate Seniority programs and activities.<\/p>\n Celebrate Seniority is a free membership program that supports successful aging of people \u201c55 and better\u201d through education, social activities and volunteer opportunities throughout Pierce County.<\/p>\n Mattoon also works on arts and crafts projects for the office, which are placed on patient lunch trays at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital to help brighten their days.<\/p>\n \u201cIt keeps me young, it keeps me busy and it keeps my mind active, which is very important,\u201d Mattoon says.<\/p>\n She also loves the rewarding feeling she gets at the end of each shift.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time I leave for the day, I\u2019m always thanked for the time I spent here and I really feel appreciated,\u201d Mattoon says.<\/p>\n For anyone who may be considering becoming a volunteer but hasn\u2019t yet, Mattoon had this advice to offer: \u201cDon\u2019t think about it \u2014 just do it! You can think about it all you want but the longer you keep thinking, the more people there are that could use your help.\u201d<\/p>\n When Myra Trucco\u2019s mother was in hospice care, her caretakers would often call to ask if their family was in need of respite or any other type of assistance \u2014 someone who could come to their home and spend time with their mother, giving the family a temporary break as her primary caregivers.<\/p>\n Through that experience, Trucco was inspired to become a hospice volunteer herself.<\/p>\n At the time she applied, no hospice positions were available, so she became a volunteer for the MultiCare Allenmore Hospital waiting room first. Later she became a hospice companion. She\u2019s been giving her time and talents as a MultiCare volunteer for almost two years now.<\/p>\n \u201cI have one hospice patient that I visit with twice a week for two hours,\u201d she explains. \u201cI\u2019m there to give her my complete, undivided attention. It\u2019s my job to be a calming presence and a sounding board for her, for whatever she needs on that particular day.\u201d<\/p>\n Trucco also makes it a point to bring some of her patient\u2019s favorite snacks when she visits, and sometimes flowers too.<\/p>\n \u201cI do my best to brighten her day however I can,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n When it comes to giving back, Trucco believes there\u2019s power in numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we would be a better community, and a better country, if everyone took the time to give back in some way,\u201d she says. \u201cEven if all you can give is your time, know that it\u2019s still going to help someone.\u201d<\/p>\n When Barb Elder\u2019s children got to the age where it \u201cwasn\u2019t cool\u201d for their mom to volunteer at school anymore, she needed something new to fill her time. It couldn\u2019t be just anything; she wanted to know that she was still making a difference in her community.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when Elder applied to become a volunteer at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, and the rest is history. She has been a volunteer with the Good Samaritan gift shop for more than 25 years, where a portion of all proceeds goes toward supporting patient care. Elder makes sure everything is priced accurately in the gift shop, and she also assembles items as needed.<\/p>\n Through all her years of volunteering, Elder says her favorite thing has to be the people. She\u2019s become good friends with many of the volunteers she works with, and she enjoys interacting with the hospital\u2019s many visitors as they take a break from their day to browse the shop.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who volunteer tend to live longer, you know,\u201d Elder says. \u201cGiving back is rewarding and it\u2019s good for you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to volunteer for MultiCare? Apply here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Claudia Moore is known as the unofficial chef for Grannies\u2019 Attic Thrift Store in Puyallup. When she comes in for her volunteer shifts, she brings a new delicacy for her fellow volunteers to try. Her inspiration comes from the used cookbooks she sorts for the store.<\/p>\n \u201cI love to make food, especially baked goods,\u201d Moore says. \u201cI am always buying cookbooks from Grannies\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Her connection to Grannies\u2019 Attic began long before she was a volunteer. The thrift store was a place for Moore and her daughter to spend time.<\/p>\n \u201cGrannies\u2019 was very close to my daughter\u2019s bus stop,\u201d Moore says. \u201cBefore the bus came, we would stop in, look around, and say hello to all of the friendly staff.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s always loved the store and its friendly atmosphere, so about a year and a half ago she decided to become a volunteer.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite thing about volunteering is the people, both the customers and the volunteers,\u201d Moore says. \u201cWe have regulars that come in to check out the new merchandise but also just to chat. Everyone needs someone to talk to. It makes me feel good \u2014 I really get a lot back.\u201d<\/p>\n She also encourages people to donate items they no longer use to the store, if they aren\u2019t able to volunteer.<\/p>\n \u201cI encourage my friends and family to clean out their garages and donate to the store,\u201d Moore explains. \u201cThe proceeds go to a really great cause, and it\u2019s another good way to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Losoya has spent most of his career in hospitals.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been working in hospitals most of my life,\u201d he says. \u201cI started as an emergency room tech and worked my way up to surgeon\u2019s assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n After working in different parts of the world (one of his favorite places was Athens, Greece), Losoya planted roots in Auburn. Three years ago, he began volunteering at the MultiCare Auburn Medical Center registration desk.<\/p>\n Losoya volunteers to give back to his community and as a way for him to socialize and stay mobile. He\u2019s the first smiling face you see when you enter the hospital, and he is sure to make you laugh at least once during your visit.<\/p>\n \u201cI volunteer because I think it\u2019s something that is needed,\u201d Losoya says. \u201cI know if I had to go to the hospital, I would appreciate it if someone was there to greet me and to show me where I needed to be. People who are coming to the hospital already have something heavy on their mind. I am happy to help.\u201d<\/p>\n Carole Christensen retired less than a year ago and was motivated by her daughter, a hospice nurse, to fill her newly acquired \u201cfree time\u201d with volunteering.<\/p>\n \u201cI am busier than I was when I was working,\u201d Christensen says.<\/p>\n Since she began as a hospice volunteer, she\u2019s been a companion to nine hospice patients.<\/p>\n \u201cVolunteering has given me the opportunity to make new friends and to meet people I never would\u2019ve met otherwise,\u201d Christensen says.<\/p>\n She visits patients twice a week, providing respite care for family members as well as being an ear for patients who don\u2019t have many visitors.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of families don\u2019t want to talk about death, but the patients often do,\u201d Christensen says. \u201cI lend my ears to them. They teach me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n One of her favorite things to do is to sing with the people she visits.<\/p>\n \u201cI volunteer to make someone smile who may not have many reasons to do so,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Victoria Terrill has ambitious goals for her future. The high school senior plans to become a pediatric surgeon, and she\u2019s been preparing for that career in a unique way: she volunteers at Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\nPat Mattoon<\/h2>\n
Celebrate Seniority<\/h3>\n
Myra Trucco<\/h2>\n
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital and MultiCare Hospice<\/h3>\n
Barb Elder<\/h2>\n
MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital<\/h3>\n
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\nClaudia Moore<\/h2>\n
Grannies\u2019 Attic Thrift Store<\/h3>\n
Sam Losoya<\/h2>\n
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center<\/h3>\n
Carole Christensen<\/h2>\n
MultiCare Hospice<\/h3>\n
Victoria Terrill<\/h2>\n
Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Hospital<\/h3>\n