Volunteers at Hospice of East Texas do most anything and everything!

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another--

Erma Bombeck

When it comes to “compassion, unselfish caring, patience and just plain loving one another” that the late Erma Bombeck wrote about, no one surpasses the extraordinary volunteers of Hospice of East Texas.

Volunteerism has been at the heart of Hospice of East Texas since its founding in 1982, when a group of community volunteers galvanized support for a concept few had heard of at the time, an approach to caring for people with a life-limiting illness. To this day, volunteers are the heartbeat of Hospice of East Texas, serving in countless ways to provide hope and support to patients and their families.

Volunteers at Hospice of East Texas do most anything and everything. Working directly with patients and their families in their homes, volunteers offer caring support as they sit, listen, smile, walk a dog, take a casserole, hold a hand, run an errand. In HomePlace, Hospice of East Texas’ signature in-patient facility, volunteers greet and guide families and guests, offer snacks from the hospitality cart, help with administrative and clerical projects, or work in the gardens and grounds. Specially trained volunteers offer bereavement support to grieving families and assist with grief workshops and support groups. Another group of volunteers work with dementia patients and their families. Volunteers also work at the Hospice of East Texas resale shops in Henderson and Nacogdoches as sales staff generating funds to support Hospice’s programs. 

Here’s what some have said about the experience of volunteering with Hospice of East Texas:

“Volunteering for Hospice of East Texas is the most rewarding work I’ve ever done, and perhaps the thing I’m most proud of in my life.”--Hospice volunteer

“At this stage of life, so many people are almost forgotten. We are so grateful that our Hospice volunteer visits mother faithfully, and that she is genuinely interested in her. What a blessing she is”--Family Member

“I work full time, but I still have time to volunteer for Hospice of East Texas. I can visit my patient in the evenings or on weekends. We’ve become like family.”--Hospice volunteer

If you have a heart to help celebrate lives, Hospice of East Texas would love to have you as a volunteer and will find a way to connect your gifts to the work of caring for patients and families. It may be the best job you’ve ever had!

For more information, contact Nancy Lamar, Vice President of Community Relations at 903-266-3402. Visit our website at www.hospiceofeasttexas.org.