Archived Volunteer Profiles

Lilliana

"I was one of a group of eight who took the first Hospice/Palliative care training with Lois at Mariposa in September 2012. I have been a volunteer with Interior Health since September 2009. One of the main reasons I was drawn to volunteering was a compassion and understanding that developed from the experiences of being chronically ill for 5 years. This enabled me to know firsthand the difficulties, frustrations and limitations that people suffer when they are unable to live their lives in a way previously enjoyed. I am rewarded with the pleasure of knowing that I can bring peace and togetherness to others in ways that would have brought that to me in the past. By acknowledging death as a part of living, it encourages me to live with greater integrity, making a daily effort to make decisions that lead to doing and being my best each day. A greater appreciation of life flows from the knowledge that death can arrive at any time. Volunteering allows one to be emotionally sharing and intimate with others, who are often strangers, without constraints.

Being a volunteer allows me to be surprised, learn more about myself and to share my gifts with others. Volunteering is one of the few activities in which we have an opportunity to be sincere with others who are often strangers."

Graham
Desert Valley Hospice Society has been fortunate to have the right people with the right skill-sets come alongside at just the right time to support our efforts and move us forward. Graham Jenkinson is one such individual. 

A highly skilled and experienced strategic planner and project leader, Graham has translated his decades of IT management and consulting into enormously valuable support for DVHS. Just a few of the key projects and initiatives he’s spearheaded for the Society include:  Putting together our first ever Communication Plan in the spring of 2012, complete with stakeholder assessment, communication vectors, communication   products and related materials.

• Building a power point presentation for DVHS Board Members to deliver in the community about how the Society is progressing on work outlined in our Strategic Plan, as well as measurement criteria to gauge the effectiveness of the presentation.
• Working on the governance structure for the Society.
• Creating a system to track volunteer hours to quantify the effort put in by the many volunteers in our Society whose work is in all areas other than one-on-one palliative patient support (ie: fundraising, public relations, etc.)
• Building a Board of Directors manual for new Directors.
• Facilitating our Board of Directors Strategic Retreat day in June 2014, and a website development brainstorming session.
• A million and one other tasks as a member of our Community Relations committee, especially in the lead up to the opening of our Supportive Care Centre.

Graham started volunteering with DVHS in 2012. “When Janet Shaw asked if I was available to help DVHS with their strategic plan rollout, the answer was easy. I hoped it would allow me to meet more folks in my new home town, and would give me an avenue to maintain some of my management skills. In addition, I have never worked in any areas related to health care, so was looking forward to learning something too,” he says. Little did he know it would lead to an intensive and long-term commitment (we’re awfully glad it did!). 

Graham says some of the biggest reasons he enjoys working with DVHS include meeting and working with new people, personal learning about the health care system in BC, and the personal satisfaction of seeing the Society grow, achieve its goals and move forward to take on new challenges.  

DVHS is in need of diverse skillsets, reminds Graham. “As DVHS matures as an organization, new opportunities will arise and people with differing skill sets will be needed. The challenge will always be to find the right people with the right skills at the right time to address the Society’s needs and aspirations.”

He – and we! – hope you’ll join us too.