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When you walk into St. Joseph Health Center, the first person you're likely to see is a volunteer. The ambassadors who greet visitors at the door, answer questions and give directions are volunteers. If you come on a Sunday, you might be greeted by Helen and Bill Groll, named this year as Volunteers of the Year.
"We usually name just one person as the Volunteer of the Year," says Rita Laws, volunteer coordinator for Saint Joseph Health Center. "But these two are such an incredible couple-you couldn't separate them."
"We started together ten years ago after I had a sinus surgery," says Helen Groll. "I told Bill it was a payback time. We do everything together."
The two have been very busy during their decade of service. In addition to being ambassadors two Sundays each month, the couple works every Wednesday. Bill works transporting patients from one area of the hospital to another and as a heart associate for the Carondelet Heart Institute. "I talk with patients who have had open heart surgery," explains Bill. "I've been through it and can share first-hand experience with them. I think it's reassuring for them."
Helen volunteered in Patient Access until last year when she moved to the Carondelet Heart Institute. She is the Ways and Means chair for the auxiliary board which means, of course, that Bill is right with her doing fund-raising for the auxiliary.
"Whenever there is a sale, Helen and Bill work long hours from start to close," says Eileen Krause, another volunteer. "Whenever there is a need for extra help, Helen and Bill will always respond. They are a wonderful example of volunteerism."
Both say they get a lot of satisfaction from their service to the health center, and something that can't be measured. "The volunteers become like family," says Bill. "You can depend on them sometimes more than your real family."
"This is my life," says Helen. "This is what I enjoy doing."
For more information about volunteer opportunities at Saint Joseph Health Center, Call the Volunteer Office at 816-943-2775.
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