Over the summer, Bijou Brown and I decided to volunteer at UK HealthCare. It was an amazing experience and I am so grateful I got to take part in it. Every summer, UK HealthCare offers teens the opportunity to volunteer for 6 days, 2 shifts a week, for 2 months in the summer. You have the opportunity to choose your hours and what area of the hospital you will be volunteering in from the options they give you.

Bijou Brown, a sophomore here at WCHS, participated in the wayfinding program at the hospital. Here is what she had to say about the program, “ Wayfinding was helping patients or patients’ families find their way around the hospital. I had a lot of fun volunteering as a Wayfinder because I got to help so many people and see the entire hospital and its offers.” We both did gift shop in the morning and Bijou did wayfinding in the afternoon while I delivered gifts, flowers, and mail to the patient’s rooms. 

Participating in helping deliver mail and flowers to patients around the hospital was such a life changing experience. Being able to talk to patients who have been through tragic experiences, gave me perspective on how lucky I am. It was so gratifying walking through the door and seeing their faces light up when they received flowers or gifts from loved ones. 

If you have the opportunity to volunteer please do it. It was truly eye-opening for me to interact with patients and hear their stories. Being a part of their experience at a hospital, and bringing joy to their day when you walk in with just something as simple as flowers was truly gratifying. I encourage everyone to check out ukhealthcare.uky.edu/volunteering and look at all they have to offer.