March 25, 2004

Volunteers of the Week: Julia and Michelle Park

Julia and Michelle Park are a pair of twin sisters in Almaden and a quad of hands helping at the Good Samaritan Hospital. They have only been there a few months, but the Leland High School sophomores are learning responsibility.

Their responsibilities include discharging patients, running errands for the nurses, delivering food trays, gifts, and flowers to the rooms, and delivering lab specimens.

The girls said that the decision to volunteer was a mutual one after hearing about the opportunity at school.

“I wanted to work in a nice environment. I enjoy helping sick people who are in need of help. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to meet new people, and it has been,” says Michelle.

Mary McCall, director of volunteer services at the hospital says, “Julia and Michelle haven't been with us for very long, but are certainly symbolic of the student volunteers here. They are very reliable and they add a lot to the program.”

The twins volunteer at the hospital about three hours a week, “I get to meet a lot of people,” says Julia, “I get to help a lot too and I like that.”

McCall feels that student volunteers are a monumental part of the auxiliary. There are 100 students in the high school program, and the hospital has about 250 adult volunteers as well. “The high school students add a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Around 4 p.m., when myself and a lot of the other adults are feeling a dip in their energy level, the high school students come on and seem to pick up everyone's spirits,” says McCall, “They're young and they smile and laugh and have a lot of fun, and I think that energy is passed along to the patients as well.”

Students who volunteer at the Good Samaritan Hospital are dealing with what a real job would be like and learning about the responsibility and commitment that it takes to be successful.

Michelle, who is interested in the medical field, says, “I'm learning the importance of responsibility. I've learned so far that even the little things that you do for other people can have a huge impact on their life, even if it doesn't seem that huge to me. The little things can make a big difference.”

Julia and Michelle plan on volunteering at the hospital until they graduate high school. “It's really fun, doing this allows us to meet lots of really neat people,” says Michelle.

— By Miranda Schultz