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Meet just some of the hundreds of The Ottawa Hospital staff members who volunteer because they want to help make life better for the people in their communities.

We have nurses who fight fires or treat injured athletes during marathons. We have administrative staff on search-and-rescue teams, ski patrols and helping settle refugees, while many retired employees return to volunteer at The Ottawa Hospital.

Here are some of the hundreds of hospital staff members who volunteer because they want to help make life better for the people in their communities.

“There is something unique and special about taking your nursing skills to the community,” said
RN Alexis Near, who volunteers for the Ottawa Race Weekend. “The best thing of all is that it doesn’t even feel like work.”

RN Tracey Palmer was amazed at the reluctance to discuss sexuality concerns of spinal cord injury patients. But she has helped change that, first as a nurse at the hospital and now as a volunteer with Spinal Cord Injury Ontario where she is a sexuality and disability educator.

“Volunteering allows me to share this and make a difference in people’s lives,” said Palmer.

As a volunteer firefighter, RN Karen Léveillée (centre) responds to house fires, CO₂ alarms, vehicle collisions and rescues.

A thirst for excitement definitely plays a role for some volunteers. Whenever RN Karen Léveillée isn’t at the hospital, she’s on call 24/7 as a volunteer firefighter in Chelsea, Quebec.

“It meets all my adrenaline junkie requirements,” said Léveillée. “A lot of my nursing skills are put to the test.”

Likewise for physiotherapist Vicki Thomson, who volunteers for the Ottawa Race Weekend, The Ride and the Army Run.

“I volunteer because I am an adrenaline junkie, a loud advocate for staying active, and because it’s just the right thing to do,” said Thomson.

“Volunteering is a never-ending joy, simply because you’re always learning.”

If you’ve ever injured yourself while skiing, you’ll appreciate Emma St-Georges’ volunteer work. She’s one of the Canadian Ski Patrol volunteers who deliver first aid and bring people down the ski hill by toboggan.

“When someone is injured I am not just a bystander – I can help if needed,” said St-Georges, who works as an Administrative Assistant in the Cancer Program.

Many retired employees return to volunteer at The Ottawa Hospital.

Administrative Assistant Laura Dunn also rescues people – such as lost hikers and injured snowshoers – with Sauvetage Bénévole Outaouais – Ottawa Volunteer Search and Rescue. “A word of advice: cell coverage is very patchy in Gatineau Park, and you cannot rely on your phone or the GPS app, especially in winter.”

Graduate student Felicia Deonarine describes volunteering as not just a passion, but also a lifestyle: “Volunteering is a never-ending joy, simply because you’re always learning.” She volunteers with Ancoura, which supports adults living with mental illness.

“I volunteer because I am an adrenaline junkie, a loud advocate for staying active, and because it’s just the right thing to do.”

Heather Simon , Patient Advocacy Specialist, volunteers with her church’s sponsorship group to support a Syrian refugee family.

“Meeting the family face-to-face has made me feel especially grateful for everything we have here in Canada,” Simon said.

Journal Editor Kathryn Young also helps new Canadians – she uses her language skills to tutor immigrants in English as a second language.

Many others also volunteer because they too receive benefits from helping.

“We think volunteering is one of the most selfish things you can do because it makes you feel so good,” explained Martin Gordon, who volunteers at the Civic Campus Information desk with his wife, retired RN Jane Gordon.

“At the end you are exhausted but it is rewarding, a great way to meet lots of interesting people, a different way to be a nurse and a lot of fun!” said Barb Bijman, an Intensive Care Unit nurse who volunteers during the Ottawa Race Weekend.

Kim Lamont volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, with its Camp Smitty, because it helped shape the person she became.

Kim Lamont, Supervisor of Drug Distribution in the Pharmacy Department, volunteers at Camp Smitty and the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa because she treasures her memories of going there as a child.

“This organization has helped shape the person I have become, as well as my success as an adult,” Lamont said.

And then there are those who worked at The Ottawa Hospital, but just couldn’t stay away after they retired, including Jane Gordon and retired nurse Ruth Gillespie, who both volunteer at the Civic Campus Information desk.

When nurse Diane Day had to take early retirement in 2005, she volunteered to organize the paperwork that has to be filled out when babies die.

Janet Eve retired from the Finance Department after 50 years at TOH and now volunteers in surgical day care.

“I choose to give back because it keeps you involved with life and it feels good.”

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