No matter the weather, Richmondite Dawn Thompson will always show up as a volunteer at Rotary Hospice House.
Thompson, who has been volunteering at the facility - a lower-rise green building with ten bedrooms on No. 4 Road - since 2009, usually gives out dinners, talks with residents, listens to their life stories and even holds their hands to give them a sense of comfort and emotional support during her weekly shift.
When her shift ends, she will write down notes about residents' family lives and things they might feel interested in talking about.
Although the little notes seem simple, Thompson hopes the next volunteer will then be better equipped to continue the conversations with residents, making them feel special.
"Personally, my father passed away at Richmond Hospital and we hoped to have a more caring and private environment to say goodbye to him," said Thompson, whose hospice volunteering gives her a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
As a result, she decided to volunteer in the hospice to "make sure more people could feel a bit special at the end of their life."
Meanwhile, the volunteer experience also made Thompson realize that it's important for people to be of service to each other.
Thompson's touching story isn’t in isolation.
Several weeks ago, Richmond Rotary Club members gathered next to the Rotary Hospice House to celebrate the hospice's 15th anniversary.
It has been a long journey for Nancy Yurkovich, a Rotary member and a pioneer of the hospice project.
According to Yurkovich, she kicked off the idea in the early 1990s – at a time when, she said, nobody wanted to talk about such a thing.
In September of 2005, Richmond's first free-standing community hospice finally opened its doors to the public after the Richmond Rotary Club raised $500,000 towards the facility, including capital contributions from the Salvation Army, private donors and different levels of the government.
"A vision is something that you believe enough in to make it into a reality. So that was the hope," said Yurkovich.
Yurkovich said the 15th-anniversary event was well-attended and many people who have been involved in this project from the beginning until the end felt extremely good and worthwhile that their efforts paid off.
Anyone interested in volunteering can visit Richmond Rotary Club's website at https://richmondrotary.com/.
