Volunteering has been called the "invisible glue" that holds society together.
If that's the case, the volunteers that make up the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary have been providing a critical - if sometimes unseen - service to health care in the city for more than 100 years.
The auxiliary put out a call last week for new volunteers to help fill the many spots it has available helping patients, raising funds and otherwise boosting the hospital.
Barbara Sauve, one of the auxiliary's volunteers, told The Record that there are plenty of ways that volunteers can contribute, from visiting with patients to providing crafts to sell in the hospital's store.
Sauve, a New Westminster resident for 48 years, says she decided to volunteer with the auxiliary when she had some extra time and remembered how much she'd enjoyed helping out there earlier in her life.
"I've been there for six years, but I originally volunteered 30 years ago," she said. "I liked it the last time I did it, but I left to go to work, and I had my children, and I was busy."
But she continued to volunteer, both at her children's schools and later with her mother's senior facility.
"When you can help, it's enjoyable," she said. "You meet a lot of new people, you might get to do things you don't normally do. I never use the term giving back. - You get a good feeling, I think you get more for yourself when you're volunteering."
She says the auxiliary can always use more active members and there's usually a job that can be well-matched to someone's interests or skills.
"We have so many different areas that people can work in," she said.
A few of those areas include working in the gift shop, bringing the shopping cart throughout the hospital, selling lottery tickets, supporting visitors to the critical care ward, making crafts to sell or working with the off-site "new to you" thrift shop.
The money that the auxiliary raises - more than $180,000 each year - all goes back to the hospital.
To find out more about getting involved, contact Marion at 604-522-4152; Betty at 604-522-5884; or Barbara at 604-526-9041.
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