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Volunteers: They play key roles[Take a look at a Husky football player who is one of the Center's 200 patient/family volunteers.] Some of the most important people at the Center don't even work here. Officially, that is. They're the ranks of volunteers who pitch in to do everything from greeting patients and families at the airport to helping them out with day-to-day practical needs to offering support during the emotional trauma that accompanies a bone-marrow or peripheral blood stem-cell transplant. "We have about 200 volunteers who offer practical assistant and compansionship for the families of patients," says Anne Vedella, director of the Center's Volunteer Services Program, which is celebrating National Volunteer Week this week. "Patients and their families are a diverse group of people," she says. "They come from all walks of life and from around the world. Some of them are well traveled, and others have never been away from their home towns." But the prospect of a bone-marrow or stem-cell transplant and a three- to four-month stay in a new city is daunting for anyone. "Many people come to Seattle feeling overwhelmed and frightened,"
Vedella says, "and the personal attention from volunteers enables them
to cope with the stress of living in an unfamiliar city. Aside from the
valuable practical support they provide, volunteers offer families reassurance
and companionship throughout their stay | ||||
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