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“Volunteering becomes infectious in such a wonderful and beautiful place”
Work Experience at the Dougie Mac!
My names Ashleighann and I completed my Work Experience at the Dougie Mac Hospice for 5 days.
I’ve always wanted to do something to do with medicine, and now aspire to become something to do with cardiology-mainly Heart Surgery.
My week at the Hospice taught me many things, from the basics about caring for elderly patients to how to cut parsnips! The staff all around the hospice were just amazing, and before long, I felt like a part of the Hospice myself-the buzz is infectious!
After my time at the Hospice, I am now thinking about volunteering for a charity, as this week has given me a different view of healthcare and has encouraged me in my future plans. I thoroughly enjoyed helping the staff, and other volunteers, and it was definitely well worth my time.
More young people should seriously think about volunteering for charities, like the DMH. It gives a person a better perspective of life, skills can be gained, new friends made – and it only takes up a couple of hours a week
Friendship and Fun at the Hanford Shop
"I retired in January 2009, after working in an office, sitting behind a desk for 43 years doing a stressful job with loads of pressure. So, when I applied to the Hospice to do a few hours voluntary work, I wanted to do something completely different.
I started at the Hanford shop when it opened in August 2009 and loved the variety of work and meeting and helping all the customers. Best of all though, I got to meet a whole new set of lovely friends. We work hard, under no pressure, just because we want to do our bit for the hospice and we have lots of laughs! I never ceased to be amazed at the generosity of the donations we have to sort through.
If anyone has a few hours to spare and you want to help this very worthwhile cause, I can recommend a good dose of friendship and fun at the Dougie Mac Shops."
Lloyds TSB Corporate Volunteering
The Process Governance Team from Lloyds TSB recently volunteered for their ‘Day to Make a Difference’ at the Douglas MacMillan Hospice.
'Day to Make a Difference' is a Lloyds TSB initiative where all colleagues are given a real opportunity to volunteer and make a difference to a charity. Colleagues are able to spend a day out of the office volunteering for a charity or community project of their choice.
"We chose the Douglas MacMillan Hospice as 2 members of our team are from North Staffordshire and we wanted to help a local charity. We felt that giving our time was more important than giving money and meant we had a direct involvement in how the charity used it. Also, we gained an immediate response to our actions. The other 2 members of the team are from Edinburgh and Southampton but were happy to undertake a long day of travelling to carry out the volunteer work!
Our team had chosen to paint the outside of the Fundraising Building. Initially, it looked an enormous task and we thought we’d never get it done in the time we had. However, it didn't take long to get stuck into the painting and it was a great team building exercise. It showed how much we could achieve when we all worked towards a common goal.
We had an excellent day at the Douglas MacMillan Hospice and got a great sense of achievement. We felt like we were able to make a difference and speaking to the people our work would help also made it worthwhile. The staff made us feel very welcome and we were also lucky enough to have a very sunny day to do our volunteering - it also helped the paint dry much quicker!"
The Volunteer Blog
If you would like to read more about our volunteers and their experiences at the Hospice, you can read our blog HERE.
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