MEDIA RELEASE

The 39th annual National Volunteer Week is April 15-21 and Kona Community Hospital invites you to recognize volunteers who tirelessly share their time and talent to making a difference in our community.

Your support can encourage them, as well as others, to volunteer and provide help where it is needed.

National Volunteer Week is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek ways to engage in their community. It’s about meeting our challenges not as individuals, but as members of a community, with all of us working together.

The Kona Community Hospital Auxiliary is the largest volunteer organization at the hospital with 65 volunteers. There are numerous volunteer opportunities such as helping in the infusion center to assisting in office work. They also coordinate the Gift Shop, Friday Bake Sale and more.

Monies go toward hospital activities and nursing scholarships.

A perfect example of their work is the Auxiliary’s annual Rummage Sale that recently took place and raised $7,350 in two days, nearly doubling from last year. The funds help local students become nurses, in hopes that they will stay in our community and work.

Hundreds of volunteer hours was put forth in order to coordinate the event. Power Storage Kuakini donated storage space for three months, for our sorting and pricing efforts which was a significant help.

In 2011, Kathy Golizen provided 1,112 volunteer hours, the most at KCH, by knitting newborn baby hats for the Obstetrics department. The total number of volunteer hours provided by the Auxiliary last year was 8,652, which equates to approximately $184,807 of voluntary services.

“These unselfish and generous acts happen quite often but people may not know about them,” said Emily Mendez-Bryant, hospital community relations director. “We are extremely fortunate that we have strong volunteer support from our community. The amount of volunteer work that is provided at the hospital undoubtedly adds to our success.”

To be a volunteer, contact the Auxiliary office at 322-4577. There are also other volunteer opportunities at the hospital such as chaplain services and the junior volunteer program (14 years old and above). For more information, contact 322-4458.

Founded in 1914, Kona Community Hospital is a 94-bed full-service hospital with 24-hour emergency services that supports the west region of the island of Hawaii.

It is a member of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, a special agency of the state of Hawaii established in 1996. It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Kona Community Hospital is dedicated to providing and enhancing accessible comprehensive healthcare services to the West Hawaii community.