Veteran Volunteer - Honor Patients in Park Ridge

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Veteran Volunteers play a unique and very important role in the care we provide to hospice patients at JourneyCare Hospice.

• Veterans may be asked to "be a friend to another veteran" and provide weekly or monthly visits to our patients who have served our country.
• Our agency has a "pinning program," where Veteran volunteers facilitate a short, but very moving ceremony for hospice patients. With patriotic music playing, the volunteer will recite a brief reading-tailored to the appropriate military branch-and award a service pin to the patient, thanking them for their service to our country. Some of these ceremonies are done via Zoom online.
• Veteran Volunteers also attend group honorings at nursing facilities in their neighborhood to salute and honor the Veteran residents, especially on or around Veterans Day.

JourneyCare offers many in person and at home volunteer opportunities to support hospice patients:

• Visit hospice patients and their loved ones where they live....visit patients in these Illinois locations (and surrounding areas): Barrington, Chicago, Des Plaines, Elgin, Gurnee, Homewood, Lawndale, Mundelein, Mt. Prospect, Roundlake, St. Charles, Tinley Park, Woodstock and other Chicago Metro locations. Looking for volunteers to provide friendly and supportive visits, pet therapy with certified pets, or massage therapy. Visit patients at their home or in nursing facilities. Volunteer near your home...determine your own volunteer schedule!

• Make weekly check in calls to hospice patients and their loved ones from your home. Call patient caregivers every Wednesday or Thursday from the comfort of your own home to see if they need anything.

• Have a special skill that you'd like to share with hospice patients or nursing home residents? For example, play music or read stories for hospice patients and residents at nursing facilities. Volunteer close to your home.

• Sit in on our Interdisciplinary Team Meetings to represent the volunteers 2 to 4 times a month in our Barrington, Crystal Lake or Deerfield offices. Meetings are usually Wednesday or Thursday from approximately 9am - 11am.

Please apply to volunteer on our website, www.journeycare.org. Once you apply, our volunteer coordinator will contact you to go over positions available, explain onboarding and training requirements, and answer any questions you may have.