Article by Tanya Erway, Volunteer Solutions Recruitment Coordinator
(Posted 2023 April)
National Volunteer Recognition Week is April 16-22, 2023.
These volunteers may inspire you to get involved in your community.
“You can make a difference. You may not be able to save the world, but everybody can in some way, somehow, contribute and make a positive impact. We all have that capability.” – Samuel Lee
“Volunteering is a good feeling. It feeds your soul,” shared Volunteer Solutions volunteer, Sam Lee. He joined Volunteer Solutions in late 2016. He was a grocery shopper for two older adults and is a yard helper to a woman, who recently turned 90. Depending on the season, you can find Sam mulching, trimming bushes, pulling weeds, blowing, raking, and bagging leaves. He even fixed her small brick patio when it was sinking. He’s assisted her with some indoor projects, too. When Sam describes the solid trust and friendship they have forged over the past six years, you can sense the love and mutual admiration the two of them have for one another.
Since 2019, Sam has taken on the fascinating role of volunteering for the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History on Sundays. He has been an Insect Ambassador, educating visitors on live insects, beetles, and caterpillars, or, informing them on arthropods and demonstrating tarantula feedings. His current role is as a Paleo volunteer, assisting in the fossil lab and learning how to pick through and identify fossils.
When asked about what prompted his initial involvement in volunteer activities, Sam said he felt something was missing and that he needed to do something outside of his typical routine. He was shocked at how many volunteer opportunities Fairfax County offers. In 2010, he began serving as a volunteer at Alternative House, now called Second Story, a program for youth and young mothers in crisis. He subsequently joined the Befriend-a-Child program in the Department of Family Services as a mentor to a 10-year-old boy.
Sam was born in Florida and grew up in Sao Paolo, Brazil, before returning and attending college in New Jersey. He works in an IT-related role, on proposals for the federal government. He’s married, with a son who will be graduating from high school this June. Over the years, Sam has helped him explore volunteer opportunities, and influenced other family members to give back, too.
Sam Lee emphasizes the importance of kindness, “We need to be more generous with each other. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Be present.”
In early 2022, when retired hospital nurse and clinical researcher, Hannah Van Hook, received the email from her Volunteer Solutions coordinator alerting her and others of a request for office support needed in the Guardianship Unit, she responded that she would do it. Lori Jones, a paralegal in that unit, recently raved, “Hannah is an amazing volunteer! She pays attention to the details, is professional, easy to work with, has a willingness to learn, and is flexible.”
According to Legal Services of Northern Virginia, a guardian is an “individual appointed by the court to bear responsibility for the personal affairs of the incapacitated person, such as their housing, health care, or therapeutic treatment.” The Fairfax County Guardianship Unit keeps track of the documentation and reports submitted by guardians. Hannah volunteers in the office one day per week, for eight hours, and assists with copying, filing, records management, uploading guardian reports and court orders into a database, sending reminder letters, and troubleshooting when certain documentation issues arise. She shared that her background in nursing, and her previous personal experience as her own mother’s guardian has helped her understand what guardians face.
For Hannah, volunteering has been a lifelong pursuit. She first joined Volunteer Solutions in 2017 and was a Meals on Wheels driver for a few years. She also participated in a Thanksgiving food delivery project with them in 2021. In the 1970s, while living in Denver, CO, she helped as a volunteer nurse, taking care of orphaned babies who were brought from Vietnam.
She moved to Virginia in 1986 with her military husband and their daughter and son. In the 1990s, Hannah became involved in volunteering at Volunteer Fairfax under the Volunteers for Change program, which connected volunteers to a wide variety of opportunities. In 2016, she began serving at Capital Caring Hospice, helping with administrative tasks, answering phones, making deliveries, and visiting nursing homes for nearly four years.
In December 2022, she embarked upon another deeply impactful volunteer role, at Inova Fairfax Hospital with the No One Dies Alone (NODA) project. If a patient doesn’t have family or friends to help support them, compassionate volunteers take 2-3 hour shifts and stay at their bedside.
When asked why she volunteers, Hannah responded, “The community gives us a lot and it’s nice to give back to the community. It’s good to be a part of something outside of yourself and your day-to-day.”
Volunteer Solutions thanks our volunteers for their caring hearts, talents, and time they contribute to help support older adults, adults with disabilities and family caregivers. You each bring so much to our community, and we greatly appreciate you. A special congratulations to Sam Lee, Hannah Van Hook, and Tucker Maney for receiving the 2023 Star Awards from Volunteer Solutions!
If you wish to join our efforts, explore volunteer opportunities with Volunteer Solutions, under Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services, at bit.ly/FXVSVOL or email VolunteerSolutions@FairfaxCounty.gov. For other opportunities in Fairfax County, go to bit.ly/FFXVOLUNTEER.
This article is part of the Golden Gazette monthly newsletter which covers a variety of topics and community news concerning older adults and caregivers in Fairfax County. Are you new to the Golden Gazette? Don’t miss out on future newsletters! Subscribe to get the electronic or free printed version mailed to you. Have a suggestion for a topic? Share it in an email or call 703-324-GOLD (4653).