The Gathering of Volunteer Program Managers

LASCAVA workshop at James Island County Park

I got away from my office on Friday afternoon and met up with fellow volunteer program managers at the conference center at James Island County Park. The group is called LASCAVA and is the lowcountry branch of the SC Association for Volunteer Administration.

I don't want to boast, but this groups pulls the strings behind the scenes on an awful lot of what goes on in this town. You might not know us but these ladies and gentleman coordinate recruit, train and place volunteers who serve in hospitals, hospice, libraries, meals on wheels, Water Missions International, Habitat for Humanity, Trident United Way, 211 Hotline, Parks & Recreation and more, more, more! Hundreds of thousands of hours of community service annually flows through our hands. It's a pretty amazing group.

Charlie's Angels

Charleston, S.C.



Fun photo, eh! I asked them to come in on Tuesday morning for a picture. Each of these retired business people joined the volunteer team at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital because they know Charlie Black who is seated in the center.



Either because he simply let them know what he was doing and how much he enjoyed it, or in the case of one of the gentlemen who was a widower, he called him a couple of times encouraging him to explore volunteering. Two of the gentlemen help staff the recovery room desk, two of the women are patient representatives making rounds on patients, one lady works in outpatient, a gentleman works in the pharmacy and another in Ambulatory Surgery.



Charlie Black, retired as director of sales and marketing for Geer Drug Company, staffs the main information desk at the hospital.



The amazing thing, is that because of this one person and his positive influence, this team has served over 18,350 hours at the hospital. It's hard to imagine how many lives they have touched and it all started with one person.



Best part? Not only is Charlie Black a great role model but he has a wicked sense of humor and entertains me with a fresh joke everyday. :)

Secret alleys and afternoon escapes

Philadelphia Alley, Queen St., Charleston, S.C.



Philadelphia Alley is such a sweet shady alleyway no one with a camera can resist it.



Nice day. I arranged to let all of the volunteers at Roper St. Francis Healthcare go to see The Help at the Terrace Theater this afternoon. What fun! It felt like we were playing hooky and I have to thank Charlie and Darrell who agreed to cover the Front Desk at the hospital because they thought it was a "chick flick". I arrived early to greet everyone and collect hugs. We filled the theater with so few seats to spare I was a worried we might not all fit in. I work with such a great gang. After party at Zias next door for margarita and nachos.

Best Friends

Magnolia Plantation Gardens, Charleston, S.C.

I went to the funeral visitation of one of my gentleman volunteers this evening. He was such a nice man that I've been fascinated by him and the way he led his life.

JD and his wife Cat, have volunteered at the friendly little hospital across the river, every Monday afternoon for years on end. They were tiny people and each week they struggled across the parking lot carrying the giant floral arrangement from their Sunday church service so we could divide it into small bouquets. They didn't want there to be a patient in-house without fresh flowers in their room.

Every week they had lunch together in the hospital cafeteria before reporting for duty and I watched them talk - to each other, as if they were still getting to know each other. They worked together for four hours, answering the phones, giggling in between directing lost souls. They survived greater losses than should be asked of any parent, losing both of their adult children and it seemed to make them stronger and closer. Things are always more complicated than they appear but from my sideline view they appeared to have the example of what an ideal partner relationship should be.

The sad thing is that the better the relationship the more painful the loss. I am so sorry Cat. So sorry.

What Does Joan Do?

It's Volunteer Week and a good time to clarify what the heck I actually do.

We are fortunate in this country to have so many people willing to do unpaid work supporting the causes they believe in, that we actually need people to coordinate their efforts. That would be me. I am the Director of Volunteers for Roper St. Francis Healthcare and I coordinate the day to day program at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital.

I have over 450 active volunteers between the ages of 14 - 96 in our facilities in any one month. Last year our volunteers served over 82,000 hours. Amazing.

In health care the processing is so complicated I am lucky that I have any volunteers at all.

The idea is, if a hospital employee is required to go through safety, infection control, privacy training, health screenings, backgrounds checks etc. to keep our patients safe, why wouldn't we have to do that for someone who is working for free? We do.

My life is processing. I am contantly orienting, placing and training a rolling roster of volunteers of all ages who come to serve. These folks make an great difference in the service we offer and many do it because someone helped them when they most needed it.

Volunteers welcome and greet, help with clerical support, fill water pitchers and help feed, make rounds on patients, push wheelchairs, help in the nursery and drive golf carts. I have a singing volunteer, a couple of clowns and pet therapists whose trained dogs wear official hospital ID tags. We regularly get letters and phone calls grateful for the kindness of this cast of incredible characters that have gathered determined to make a difference.

We have a great reputation for helping students on career tracks and the hospital is well staffed with young professionals who started in my office. I have student mentoring programs, career evenings and a summer camp. I am fortunate to work with a wonderful staff who welcome and teach students interested in health careers.

It's Volunteer Week! Volunteers are working all over this city adding to our quality of life in ways we can't imagine. I hope I say it every day, but thank you, thank you, thank you volunteers.

Cleaner, Greener

[click image to enlarge]


These young people are planting flowers at the Thomas Crane Library as part of Operation Days Work (ODW). Many neighborhoods got spruced up over the weekend as caring citizens came out to do some outdoor spring cleaning and flower planting.