Celebrating National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week is April 19–25 and promotes appreciation of volunteers and volunteerism. In Maine, 38.7% of residents volunteer, or about 425,000 people a year, per data from the 2018 Volunteering in America report by Corporation for National and Community Service, ranking Maine as the ninth highest state for volunteerism. These numbers also only represent formal volunteers. Currently, our communities members are stepping up in incredible ways to support others through this pandemic, most of which will never be counted. Who are volunteers? They are you!

Volunteers are the backbone of communities, giving of their time and talents, and they strengthen all of us. We celebrate volunteers – not only ours, but all volunteers, in every organization, in every town and county. So much could not be done without you, and what you offer.

Pine Tree Hospice’s volunteers make up a large group of women and men in Piscataquis, Penobscot, and Somerset counties, giving 4,399 hours of their time last year. They come from every walk of life and bring with them life experiences that make them perfect matches for the many clients with life-limiting illnesses. But Pine Tree Hospice volunteers also help in other ways. Guiding policy and programming as a director on the board, or event planning through sitting on a committee. We also have volunteers who facilitate groups for bereaved adults or children or advanced care planning workshops. Each one of these volunteers share their caring, love and strength – and many of them volunteer with more than one organization. 

If you would like to know more about volunteering for Pine Tree Hospice, please call us at 207-564-4346 to learn more about what volunteer hospice is, and how you can share your talents, your time and your caring with people in our communities.