This time last year, I began serving tea and coffee to patients at Schaerbeek Hospital. I volunteered on Fridays, but doubted by French, doubted my impact, got busy with other things, and stopped going after a while. A few months later, my husband had surgery at that same hospital and stayed there through part of his recovery. He was really depressed – day after day when I’d visit, I saw that he was solemn and bored.
One day when I visited, I noticed he was happy – unusually happy – and asked him what happened. He said “a volunteer served me hot chocolate!” I asked him if the volunteer also hung out with him or spent much time in his room. “Nope, they just gave me hot chocolate!” He was beaming. The small act that I doubted had completely turned my husband’s day around. I was stunned. I realized that what we do with Serve the City is really important for the people we serve. It’s important to these patients that people they don’t even know do something kind for them. It’s been extremely meaningful for me to discover that I have that impact when I volunteer, too.
Do you want to volunteer with us? Find more info about the Schaerbeek Hospital on our website.
