Cheers to Our Volunteers
CommunityHealth celebrates our volunteers throughout the year, but Volunteer Appreciation Month gives us a chance to really focus on our most important asset.
We’ve been hard at work making this month memorable for you all, and as April comes to a close, we wanted to give you an overview of what we’ve done so far and what is still to come.
Around the Clinic
You may have noticed that the lounge is looking pretty star-spangled lately.
The Volunteer Services team put up decorations in the lounge at the beginning of April to celebrate all the superstars who come in each day and allow us to serve our patients.
As a token of our appreciation, we’ve also had snacks out throughout the week for volunteers to grab – we want to make sure you are feeling your best while you’re giving your best!
This week we extended the love to the rest of the clinic, too.
Make sure to check your volunteer stations for some gratitude from our staff.
Social Media
If you aren’t already in the CommunityHealth Volunteers Facebook group, you’re missing out!
Throughout April we’ve been spotlighting quotes from all of you, and sharing out data and quotes from our most recent Patient Satisfaction Survey.
Even once this month ends, though, be sure to check online often – more content is posted weekly.
To be featured on CommunityHealth’s social media channels during May to celebrate the next generation of health care providers during the Future of Health campaign, contact Olivia Metsa at ometsa@communityhealth.org.
Volunteer Celebration & Program Updates
Each year, the CommunityHealth Volunteer Services team hosts a Volunteer Celebration during National Volunteer Week from April 21st to the 27th in 2024.
This event not only gives us and other CommunityHealth staff a chance to connect with all of you, but also to announce initiatives for the coming year.
If you’d like to see the event, you can watch it here, or you can read on for the highlights.
CommunityHealth is excited to bring back more in-person events for volunteers in 2024.
After the success of our first in-person volunteer event since the pandemic, the 30th Anniversary Block Party featuring the Volunteer Happy Hour in August of 2023, we want to keep the good times rolling.
Our next event will be our Study Break Social on Thursday, May 16th, from 5-8pm at Barcocina in West Town (1814 W. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622).
CommunityHealth is working on updated and expanded clinic tour videos.
We know that all of our remote volunteers wonder what it’s like to be in the clinic, and for our new onsite volunteers it can be intimidating to be learning so much on your first shift.
The Volunteer Services team will be spending the next few weeks creating videos to be included in onboarding, which will feature our main clinic and our two microsites.
We hope that they will give you all an idea of both the patient and volunteer experience – stay tuned for more!
CommunityHealth is focused on fostering connections within our beloved volunteer network.
While volunteers at our main location know how active it is, our microsite and remote volunteers may struggle a bit more to build community.
With this in mind, we’ll be taking additional steps this year to make sure all of our volunteers have the opportunity to make meaningful connections with us and with each other!
Microsite volunteers can look forward to seeing Volunteer Services staff at their locations more frequently, and we will be hosting a microsite provider focus group.
Remote interpreters will be getting an overhaul of our live interpreter chat system which will involve a move to a new platform that will allow more significant conversation.
Happy National Volunteer Week
Thank you to the health care providers and clinic support volunteers who make CommunityHealth more than a free clinic and who make quality health care for all a reality for the uninsured, underserved, and undocumented.
As the largest volunteer-based free clinic in the nation, training the next generation of health care providers to shape the Future of Health, CommunityHealth is always open to new providers devoted to leading the fight for access.
