Volunteer
Click here to volunteer at Mesilla Valley Hospice
Mesilla Valley Hospice Volunteers have been a special part of hospice services for many years. We could not accomplish our mission without them. Our volunteers cheer and support patients and their families, helping them live life fully throughout the illness.
Some volunteers find that their talents are better directed to office support. Each day hospice offices are filled with volunteer friends who give their time helping organize, file, mail and other routine tasks. Other volunteers have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through special event fund raising
Glenn Holgerson: A Helping Hand
Glenn and his wife Linda both volunteer at Mesilla Valley Hospice and have been serving in many capacities since 1998. Glenn serves most often as a patient volunteer, going out to the homes of our patients as needed. Patient volunteers are a great help to our families as it allows family members to get out of the house and do grocery shopping, run errands, or just take a breather. While at the homes, Glenn is often found going above and beyond the call of duty. He has moved furniture for families to make room for a hospital bed, he has mowed lawns and cleaned weeds, and completed other tasks that have assisted the families. In addition, Glenn often helps out in the office and serves as the backup for our volunteer coordinator when she is out of town.
Even with all the work that Glenn does at Mesilla Valley Hospice, he still takes time to serve others by working as a crossing guard for the City of Las Cruces. He can be seen every morning and afternoon with his whistle and stop sign seeing that the area children are escorted safely across the street to school. Glenn has been serving as a crossing guard for about a year and a half.
When asked about his philosophy of life, Glenn replied, "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Billie Taylor: "I just love my job!"
"I just love my job at La Posada; I feel like I'm doing something really helpful." Billie's job is to help serve patients their breakfast each Wednesday morning. She has said that it's not just the patients she enjoys but the staff who are so grateful for her help. The morning La Posada volunteers have had special training in patient care in addition to the 24 hours of volunteer orientation, giving them the confidence to work well with the variety of patient needs that arise.
Billie became an advocate for hospice after helping to care for her best friend who was a hospice patient in Denver in 2001. She enrolled in our volunteer training program and has been helping in one capacity or another since then. "I like working at La Posada best, but I am willing to do whatever needs doing as a volunteer."
Billie and her husband, Cary Taylor, are longtime residents of Las Cruces. Cary joins Billie on the board of directors of the Humane Society. They share their lovely southwestern home with Charlie, an Akita of formidable proportions.
The motto of our hospice with respect to the volunteers is "We couldn't do it without you" and that is so true. Billie is one of many who make all the difference to us, our patients, their families, and to this community. Her help in the profound work of hospice has "meaning to me that can't be put into words."
Volunteers find that their efforts enrich their own lives as well as those they are helping. For more information call the Volunteer Coordinator at 523-4700.
