Needs From: Volunteer Onslow

• Companionship: Visit patients to provide social and emotional support, share stories and laughs

• Respite: Sit with patients to ensure their safety and provide peace of mind so family and caregivers can run errands, do chores, take a nap, etc.

• Errands: Help patients and families with errands

• Transportation: Provide transportation for patients who can safely travel

• Telebuddy: Regularly check in with patients and families by phone to see how they are doing. Talk about any issues that may need to be shared with the hospice care team. These calls may also serve as a social outlet for patients and families.

• Personal Touches: If you have training in specialized areas, you can provide services such as:
– Manicures or pedicures
– Dry-brushing for the skin
– Lotions or moisturizers for the body, as well as lip treatments
– Hand massages
– Hair-brushing or styling

• Bucket List: Assist patients with their bucket lists. Help make their bucket-list wishes a reality, whether that’s a trip to the beach, one more fishing trip or a chance to see the sunset.

• This Is Your Life: For many patients, having their life’s work recognized is a great source of comfort. You can help coordinate
This Is Your Life celebrations with family and friends.

• Music Reflection: Find and share favorite songs that make a patient’s heart sing.

• Memory Boards and Photo Albums: A picture can be worth a thousand words. You can help patients put together a collage or photo album highlighting their lives. These albums can serve as a legacy for future generations.

• Outside Tasks: Assist families with lawn maintenance such as mowing, trimming hedges or other outside tasks like washing a car

• Meals of Love: Prepare home-cooked food for quick and easy meals

• Cakes for All Occasions: Make a cake and help patients and families celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries

• Pet Care: Help care for patient and family pets by feeding them, taking them for walks, changing litterboxes, etc.

• Correspondence: Help patients stay in touch with loved ones by writing letters on their behalf

• Vet-to Vet: Many veteran patients enjoy the common bond and comradery a fellow veteran can offer. As a veteran volunteer, you can visit with patients and extend a shared appreciation for their military service

• Veteran Pinning: Express thanks to veteran patients by participating in a brief veterans pinning and certificate presentation, as a final salute for military service