VOLUNTEER CONNECTION NEWSLETTER

Designed to keep you TRULY informed!

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Lots to Share!!!

 Current Volunteer Requests

Westminster 1x Respite (10/24)

Boulder

          Massage

Broomfield

          Pet Therapy

Longmont

          Light Housekeeping

          Bi-weekly Companionship

          Weekly Respite

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TRU Volunteer News and Education

11/11/21, Thursday: Veteran’s Day Parade

TRU Community Care values veterans and is grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Longmont Veteran's Day parade.  Are you a veteran or someone who appreciates veterans?  We invite you to put on your red, white and blue and be a guest on our float.  We have 40 spots available. 

TRU Community Care has spot #30 in the parade, next to Roosevelt park off of Bross street. Guests should arrive between 10:00am and 10:30am to board the float.  Warm drinks and light snacks will be provided. The parade begins at 11:11am with a F16 flying overhead and ends by 1pm.

All float guests are required to be vaccinated and wear masks. The float requires guests to walk up 4 stairs and be able to stand for a long period of time.  We will have some hay bales available for guests who need intermittent sitting breaks. We look forward to honoring our veterans alongside of you. Check out more details and sign up using this link: Veterans Day Float or email Becki at rebeccaparr@trucare.org . 

Speaking of Veterans, could you help us identify TRU’s Veteran patients by making phone calls to patients and/or their family?  We have the goal of contacting over 200 patients and need your help.  We are looking for 10-15 volunteers to make 15-20 calls over a couple weeks, starting ASAP.  Veteran’s Day is quickly approaching. Our hope is that every Veteran patient in our care is known and those that desire a pinning receive one by the Friday, November 12th.  You will be able to make these calls from home.  We will provide you with a script.  Please email Becki at rebeccaparr@trucare.org with Calling Patients in the subject line and she will get you names and a script to start making calls. 

Do you know a Veteran who may like to serve our Veteran patients as well as other community Veterans a few hours a month by participating in veteran pinning ceremonies?  This individualized volunteer position would not require the rigorous onboarding typical of patient/family volunteers.  This Veteran volunteer would be specifically providing the much-needed pinning service.  Please connect any potential volunteers with Becki Parr.

Just a little note from Becki, “Thank you to everyone who showed up on our zoom gathering last Friday.  It was such a joy to meet each of you.  I am consistently impressed with the quality and training of our volunteers.  You are all difference makers, compassionate, effective, and committed.  I am so humbled and grateful to be part of this team.”

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Free 1-Hour Online Class on Self-Compassion for Healthcare

Thursday, October 28 at 7 pm Eastern the webpage

Although no course can fix the perfect storm that is occurring in healthcare now—the workload, the understaffing, and the lack of herd immunity--it really is possible to change how you are affected by those realities. This is because we are all caring and compassionate people, but for some reason many of us do not include ourselves in that circle of care—we tend to be unnecessarily harsh with ourselves. And that has consequences. We can’t be all we want to be for those around us, and we don’t even have our own backs when things get difficult.

Research shows that self-compassion skills can be of particular benefit to healthcare professionals. There is something fundamentally empowering when you re-learn how to deeply appreciate and care for yourself, and it isn’t hard to do.

In this session, we’ll talk about what self-compassion is and how it does—or does not—show up in your life. We’ll cover the research on the benefits of self-compassion, and address common misgivings, such as the perception that self-compassion is ‘weak.’ We will then try some in-the-moment practices designed to cultivate self-compassion in the midst of difficulties.

The class is freely offered; I have found these practices so useful that I want to make them as accessible as possible. Even if you don’t have time to attend, you are welcome to sign up and I’ll send you handouts on what we cover.

For further information and to register, you can check out the webpage for the class. If you want to register directly, you can review the waiver and sign up here. You can also use the buttons below because, well, it is fun to make buttons with this email software! If you have any questions, please contact me at jonwalker22@gmail.com. And please feel free to forward this to anyone you know in healthcare who might be interested.

Modestly Mindful LLC

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Reminder:

If you have not yet Opted-In to remain Active, please visit https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rGSc_dlPDKIezEKCxzvIusYfOLjXbNMY/view to complete necessary tasks. This does NOT mean you have to take an in-person assignment. We are moving to a new volunteer database and want to ensure our data is up to date. Please let us know if you have decided to discontinue/terminate so we can contact you to change your mind or wish you wonderful future adventures! 😊

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UPDATE:

Who should you contact with questions about your patient assignment, to schedule your annual review or turn in competencies?

To coordinate volunteers more efficiently we have divided our volunteer list by last name. While you are always welcome to contact either of us, we will be managing competency and other details according to our alpha list.

Volunteer Coordinator Contact Information

Volunteer Department: Volunteer@trucare.org, 303-604-5226 (This goes to everyone in Volunteer Services.)

Becki Parr:  Rebeccaparr@trucare.org, 720.584.5808    

Volunteers Last Name: A-K

Wendy Webster:  Wendywebster@trucare.org, 720.839.1866

Volunteers Last Name: L-Z

 

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Hello to our incredible group of volunteers! Have you had a chance to sign up yet for TRU’s virtual luncheon on October 21st? It’s taking place from 12-1 and has never been easier to ‘attend’… simply register today (for free) and you will receive a link later this month about how to join. You’ll hear more about what we’ve been busy with in the past year and where we’re headed. I know it will make you proud of your work! Additionally, we’ve included some sample wording below if you wish to invite friends, coworkers, or family. While it is disappointing that we can’t be together in person, we see it as a nice opportunity for people to join who may not have been able to before due to geographic location, time constraints, or ticket price. Please feel free to personalize and share widely! And sorry if you’re getting this more than once – it’s because you have more than one role at TRU. 😊

Best,

TRU’s Development Team

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Are you Reiki Certified? If so, please let us know. We want to update our files before we move to our new volunteer database.

 

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 Boulder County Death Café: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/deathcafe

Talking about death is a great way to spend some time. If you agree, why not hold your own Death Café?  Access the FB link to view a How-To-Guide.

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Just for Fun: NPR Tiny Desk Concerts https://www.npr.org/?refresh=true

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Lost COVID Vaccination Card? Thanks to volunteer Nancy Orr, we now have the million-dollar answer to this question, “What do I do if I lose my vaccination card?” For replacement COVID Vaccinations cards:  myVaccine Record

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Volunteer Connection Calendar

 

10/21 Thursday: TRU Cares Virtual Fundraising Luncheon

Join us once again for TRU’s annual fundraising luncheon at 12:00pm in support of our mission.  Out of abundance of caution, we have decided that this event will again be held virtually, and we hope to see you there. Register today!

 

10/22 Friday: Care Center Volunteer Training

Please let us know if you are interested in becoming a Care Center volunteer and wish to join this training.

 

10/27 Wednesday: Volunteer Support Group: with Richard Mercer 5:30pm-7:30pm Book Discussion: Attig's chapter, "Re-learning the world..." https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PcQJjlLwOtu3drj0ezQCahNbj82MLhxg/view from the book Meaning reconstruction in the experience of loss.

Zoom Access code is:850 229 3682

 

Please don’t purchase the entire book. The discussion for this evening will revolved around Thomas Attig’s specific chapter, “RELEARNING THE WORLD: MAKING AND FINDING MEANINGS” You can access the chapter here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PcQJjlLwOtu3drj0ezQCahNbj82MLhxg/viewm

 

11/11 Thursday: Longmont Veteran’s Day Parade

 

12/10 Friday: Volunteer Holiday Party! In-person (So far!!) Bring a White Elephant Gift to exchange.

 

1/14/2022 Friday: VC Zoom Book Review with author Dr. BJ Miller. A Beginner’s Guide to the End. Meeting ID Code: 448 343 968

 

The first-ever practical, compassionate, and comprehensive guide to dying – and living fully until you do.

 

“There is nothing wrong with you for dying.” Palliative care Doctor BJ Miller and Shoshana Berger write in A Beginner’s Guide to the End. “Our ultimate purpose here isn’t so much to help you die as it is to free up as much life as possible until you do.”

 

An honest, surprising, and detail-oriented guide to the most universal of all experiences, A Beginner’s Guide to the End is a “book that every family should have, the equivalent of Dr. Spock but for the other phase of life.” (New York Times bestselling author Dr. Abraham Verghese).

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