Thank you to everyone who donates their time

This National Volunteer Week we want to thank all our volunteers for all that they do!

When it comes to making a difference, our volunteers are critical to advancing excellence at the University of Alberta Hospital site – from our dedicated Board of Trustees, and the volunteers who help ensure our operations run smoothly, to the 2,000 volunteers who bring the Festival of Trees to life each year, and the volunteers who make our community events successful.

We wouldn’t be able to advance healthcare at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic, without our volunteers.

Thank you for giving your time, your skills and your passion to the University Hospital Foundation (UHF), and helping make an impact on the healthcare delivered at the University of Alberta Hospital site. Our volunteers are the heart and soul of what we do.

We would like to highlight a few of the different volunteer positions we have at UHF and introduce some of the talented and dedicated people who work with us.

Mamta and Michele

Mamta and Michele are two volunteers who have worked in UHF’s office, helping make sure that operations run efficiently.

Mamta volunteers with our Donation Services department, and helps our busy team keep up with all tasks related to mail-in donations, and Michele assisted our Human Resources (HR) staff and was an integral part in helping the HR team update processes including recruitment and supporting preparations for the onboarding of staff.

Mamta has been volunteering since November 2019 and sees her volunteer work as a stepping stone to gain some experience in non-profit work. She enjoys knowing that she is helping make a difference in her community and helping put smiles on other people’s faces.

The University Hospital Foundation is a real team and community, and Mamta enjoys working with her team members Jessica and Kathy. They always have the time to help her and answer any questions she has. She also feels valued and appreciated.

“My most memorable moment was my birthday in March. I received a card that Foundation staff had signed and a small gift. It was a sweet gesture that showed the team was thinking of me.”

Michele was a volunteer for one year, and had never worked for a non-profit organization before volunteering with UHF. She believes the experience she gained with UHF, developing a different part of her resume, will help her find work within the human resources field in the future.

“I have really enjoyed working with the UHF team. They are a group of authentic, kind hearted and hardworking people that collaborate for the greater good.”

As part of her volunteer work, Michele also provided volunteer support at the Festival of Trees. It quickly became her most memorable moment volunteering.

“I was amazed at the amount of work that went into putting the event on and how dedicated the team members were to the cause. I met people that used to volunteer or work for UHF for decades and after so many years, they still come to support the event. Very impressive!”

Dawn

Over 2,000 volunteers help run the Festival of Trees each year, and they are led by a dedicated group of committee chairs, Dawn is one of them.

When she was asked to paint some papier-mâché horses for a display at Festival of Trees, Dawn had no idea that it would lead to her being asked to be the Site Design Chair the following year. Dawn has now been the Site Design Chair for the Festival for over 15 years and also served as Luncheon Chair for seven years.

Dawn drives herself to create big and dream big. Collaborating with others, pushing others to go beyond their comfort zone, and having to adapt as a group as things change, which they always do, is a fun challenge, and gives her purpose.

This past year, Dawn and her fellow volunteers took their roles and teamwork to a new level, by bringing the steering committee together to connect outside of their regular Festival volunteer roles to help create the decorations for a library and book theme. This meant many hours of book and paper folding. They also engaged high schools in the decorations and in making paper dresses for the Luncheon Fashion Show, getting the wider community involved. There was so much enthusiasm created through this collaboration, and their efforts continue to live on as many of the wonderful creations were donated to be displayed at the Edmonton Public Library.

“I feel very privileged to be able to do what I do. I get far more out of it than I give.”

Dawn has had a lot of memorable moments with the Festival. Every year just before the room is open for the Gala, which kicks off the festivities, Dawn and her team walk around and absorb what they have created – a feeling and mood in the room that will make people excited and bring them joy. This is what a year’s worth of planning and work, and four days of setting up and decorating, brings to life.

“Getting to create and change and being challenged all the time is a gift. To see the end result of our yearlong efforts making a significant contribution to the hospital and thus the community is the BEST reward.”

Thank you to Mamta, Michele, Dawn and ALL of our amazing volunteers. You make a difference to the University Hospital Foundation and your community, by helping change and save lives at the University of Alberta Hospital.

Happy National Volunteer Week!