BJC Volunteers Make a Difference Every Day

During National Volunteer Week, BJC recognizes the dedicated individuals across the organization who support the work BJC does, while also making a difference to patients, visitors and staff. Read about two Christian Hospital volunteers below. Visit the full article on BJC Today for more volunteer stories.

Precious Wilson-Cox volunteers at Christian Hospital two mornings a week, running errands, delivering newspapers throughout the hospital, holding down the front desk and answering the phone in the volunteer office.

“I choose to volunteer at Christian Hospital because it’s close to home and I’ve been a patient here in the past and this is my way of giving back to the hospital and my community,” says Wilson-Cox, who’s been volunteering for a year and a half. “I retired from social work and it didn’t take long for me to decide to volunteer here because I was getting bored sitting around the house. This keeps me busy and it’s interesting. I’ve met a lot of people and made some nice friends.”

Wilson-Cox notes that doing things for the hospital and helping people is most rewarding for her. “I would advise anyone to volunteer because if you sit around the house doing nothing, you just get bored and your mind goes blank,” she says. “This keeps you sharp!”

Elaine Kelly can be found two mornings a week in the Christian Hospital volunteer office, where she’s in control at the desk — answering phones, sending her fellow volunteers out on errands, working on special projects and directing office traffic.

Last year, she achieved a milestone when she earned 5,000 lifetime volunteer hours at CH, where she’s volunteered for 18 years. Before that, she was a nurse at CH Northwest in the nursery for 15 years.

“I retired in 1999 when I turned 65, after 43 years as a nurse,” Kelly says. “I got bored and it only took a year before I was here volunteering, first for a short time in the Gift Shop, and in the volunteer office ever since.”

For Kelly, being around people is most rewarding when it comes to volunteering. “I live with my daughter, and I don’t drive and I use a walker, so this way I can come in here, sit at the desk and raise Cain,” Elaine says with a laugh. “My advice to anyone is to try volunteering, because there are lots of different areas to volunteer and the people are great, and the more people you get to know, the more fun you have.”