April is National Volunteer Month and while this might sound a bit biased, Hephzibah has the most dedicated, generous, caring volunteers ever! Our volunteers make a huge impact on the lives of the children living at Hephzibah Home and our Head Start and Day Care kids and we are so grateful for all the time, energy and love they’ve given to our organization.
Samantha Benson has been involved with Hephzibah since 2015 when she volunteered in our Head Start Program while she was working towards her Masters of Social Work degree; volunteers would help the early enrichment and school-readiness program for children ages 3-5 and assist staff with games, snack, lessons and enrichment activities.
Sam enjoyed her work with Hephzibah so much that she went on to become a staff member in the day care program and then a residential supervisor in Hephzibah Home. She recently finished her degree and got a full-time position as a school social worker, but she just couldn’t leave Hephzibah behind—she is now a volunteer again, and we created a special position just for Sam, “Past Staff Floater,” and she goes into the residence once a week and engages in games, activities, and continues her relationships with the kids.
“I volunteer with Hephzibah because of how much it has shaped me in the last 3 years. Having been a supervisor in the Residential Unit, I took care of many of these kids when they were sick, I helped them with homework, tucked them in at night, and spent holidays with them. My role became part of who I was as a person. Once I finished school and obtained a job as a School Social Worker, as exciting as it was, I was devastated to leave the kids. I was thrilled when I was told I could still come weekly as a volunteer in order to keep the relationships with the children’s and continue to be a positive person in their lives.”
Sam’s favorite story from her experience as a volunteer is when she got to help the children do their holiday shopping for their “Prime,” their main one-on-one volunteer. Every year before the holidays, Rush Oak Park is generous enough to invite the children living at Hephzibah Home to come do their holiday shopping at the hospital’s gift shop; Rush has even donated the gifts several years!
“Even though I had been on staff at the Residence for 3 years, I never had the opportunity to help the kids “Prime Shop” before. I had two primes (kids) when I worked at HCA, and know how much it means to receive a prime gift that the child picked out specifically for you. It’s almost like seeing the fruit of your labor. You work tirelessly with these kids and try to show them unconditional forgiveness, and it can be hard sometimes! But, seeing how excited the kids are to GIVE their prime a gift is amazing and such a selfless act. I was so happy I got to finally partake in the event and help the kids figure out what to get their staff who mean a lot to them.”
With the current situation of Sheltering-in-place, we’ve had to suspend volunteer visits. When asked what she misses most about Hephzibah right now, Sam said “I miss the kids SO much. I miss their goofiness, their hugs, and just the quirky things they say. Life can be so stressful for everyone, but kids have just a genuine innocence where they don’t realize how funny some of the things they say are. They can change my entire mood from bad to good without even trying.”
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