Always there to brighten your day: A Volunteer Appreciation Week spotlight

UF Health Shands has thousands of employees who work hard each and every day to care for our patients and our community. It’s one of the reasons we are recognized as Florida’s premier health system. Another group of people who help us achieve that recognition — the 2,000 volunteers we have each year, 98% of which are students at the University of Florida. Through multiple clubs and organizations, students interested in the medical field or giving back to their community can volunteer their time at UF Health Shands to gain hands-on experience interacting with patients and staff.

Here’s a look at some of the volunteer groups within the hospital:

Solace

Solace at the University of Florida strives to bring joy and companionship to the geriatric population at UF Health. They recognize the importance of caring for elderly patients while they receive treatment. Many older adults live in Florida and are far away from their families, so being able to provide this population with care and attention is of utmost importance to Solace.

“We believe in the power of a smile,” said Solace President Joshua Diedrich.

When speaking of the elderly patients that Solace volunteers with, Diedrich said, “I feel a responsibility to preserve their memories and show how much value they have.”

Volunteers with Solace serve in the Admission Discharge Transition Unit, or ADTU, and oncology unit. In addition to volunteering within the hospital, volunteers also visit two off-site UF Health facilities — ElderCare of Alachua County and Al’z Place, which provides adult day care for people with Alzheimer’s disease or severe memory impairment.

Footprints

Volunteers with Footprints visit patients in UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital’s immunocompromised inpatient and outpatient infusion units. Footprints embraces the motto “let kids just be kids” within the hospital and provides them a space and activities to do so. They host Mario Kart tournaments, play pretend with patients and provide games for them to play, promoting a welcoming and fun space for the patients to enjoy.

“We try to make every child’s time here just a little brighter,” said Aspen Swart, Footprints president.

One special way Footprints brightens patients’ days is by coordinating celebrations for all of the patients. Whether it’s a birthday, special event or end-of-treatment celebration, Footprints aims to make each child feel special.

Hospitalteam

Hospitalteam’s goal is to provide care and compassion to patients who may feel isolated and alone during their stay. Volunteers with this club spend one-on-one time with patients across 22 units providing them with personal care and attention. Hospitalteam prides itself on its “hospitality cart” — a cart volunteers take around the different units providing patients with hygienic products like deodorant and nail files. The cart also features entertainment like Sudoku puzzles and coloring pages.

Dream Team

Dream Team is dedicated to brightening the lives of children in the PCICU and the PICU at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital. The volunteers aim to bring light into the children’s lives by engaging in conversations, games and activities with them.

“The kids have had such an impact on my life,” said Kimi Lessor, executive vice president of Dream Team. “We try to brighten their days, but they also end up brightening mine.”

Dream Team and Footprints help run ChildLife TV in partnership with the ChildLife and UF Health Volunteer Services departments. ChildLife TV is a YouTube channel that posts weekly videos of art projects, games, music and more. Volunteers join the patients and provide them with a craft kit to follow along with each video.

UF Health Shands Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 14-20. Be sure to show your appreciation for our volunteers not only this week but every week. We value and appreciate everything that you do!