Want to put your helping heart into action?

I was online tonight browsing thru a message board I'm a part of and got totally inspiried by an E-friend (you know who you are ;) There are so many opportunities to help out at Tacoma's Marry Bridge Children's Hospital and volunteers are always needed. From arts and crafts with sick children anxiously awaiting an apointment to the littlest of survivors just needing a little hug and rock-a-bye...please review the list below of opportunies to bless a family and child who's just trying to get thru today so they can smile tomorrow! THEN go to the Marry Bridge Children's Hospital webpage and fill out the volunteer application (or click here).

you can also become a fan of Marry Bridge on Facebook
It is the philosophy of MultiCare Health System’s Volunteer Program that the volunteer experience will be more rewarding when volunteers are given the opportunity to choose an assignment they have an interest in and enjoy. Below is a list of our more popular service descriptions.


Patient Support: Lasso them in- Be a volunteer ambassador. Ambassadors offer way finding assistance to visitors by providing guidance and direction. Volunteers follow a rounding map that to locate visitors who have lost their way and guide them to their destination. Ambassador opportunities are available at a number of different MultiCare locations.


Patient Support: Hospice Hands - Want to have more meaning in your life? Would you like to be involved with something that is satisfying and of great service to your community? Become a Hospice volunteer. Volunteers are needed to serve terminally ill patients and their families. Volunteers support terminally ill patients and their families by providing respite care, companionship, life review, and transportation assistance with errands or chores.

Becoming a hospice volunteer is similar to helping a neighbor in need. No medical experience required, no college degree, we’ll provide the training to help you know what to do and what to say to make all the difference in the world. Will you lend a hand?



Patient Support: To “Serve” with love - For the volunteer who desires a well rounded experience the Adult Day Health Center has it all. The center serves physically challenged, elderly or developmentally disabled adults, by assisting with support services, therapy and activities. Volunteers assist with arts& crafts, recreational activities, educational and therapy sessions, meals and light clerical duties.


Patient Support: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall - Volunteers assist the “Kings and Queens” (Physical Therapist) to put patients back together again. Volunteers are able to assist in a number of different rehabilitation clinics: Sports Medicine, Mary Bridge Physical Therapy Clinic, Mary Bridge Speech & Hearing Clinic and more.


Patient Support: Service with a Smile - MultiCare Health System desires volunteer Customer Service Advocates. As an advocate you will visit with patients and families to inquire how their experience is going. You will be trained in service recovery for those occasional times a patient’s experience was not ideal.


Patient Support: Bleeding Hearts - MultiCare’s Heart Hospital is in need of people with compassionate hearts to be “Tuck In” volunteers. Volunteers make patient rounds between the hours of 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm offering to assist patients getting ready for bed. Volunteers may offer a warm face cloth, provide a tooth brush and toothpaste, bring a patient an extra blanket or other comforts of home.


Patient Support: Hate to sit down? - We have a volunteer opportunity that will keep you moving. MultiCare performs hundreds of surgeries every week and there is a constant need for surgical instruments. Central Services volunteers are trained to rotate “dirty” instruments for “clean” or sterile instruments.


Patient Support: Candy Striper Gone New - Patient assistant volunteers assist in a variety of ways. Volunteers may answer call lights, orient patients to their hospital bed, orient families to the unit, offer beverages, pillows, blankets or movies, assist patients with their meal trays, help to gather supplies for a treatment, help to transport a patient for an x-ray and plethora of other tasks.



Patient Support: Clinic Immersion - Volunteers assigned to a clinic help in numerous ways from taking care of waiting areas and resource materials to placing reminder calls to patients and prepping rooms. More and more health care is moving out of the hospital and into clinics. The role of the volunteers is essential to the patient’s clinic experience. Examples of clinics where volunteers serve include Tacoma Family Medicine, Radiation Oncology, Breast Health and more.



Facility Support: Jack in the bean stock - Can you grow anything? What color is your thumb? Green!! MultiCare has a number of different locations all of which have beautiful plants inside and out. Volunteers are needed to care for our plants and flowers. Volunteers also work together to arrange bouquets that are delivered to patients.



Patient Information: The more the merrier - Do you participate in a local church group, Girl Scout, Boy Scout or other civic group? Perhaps you know of a similar group? We are looking for social groups of 4-10 people to perform monthly collating projects in support of many of our MHS departments. MultiCare has new admission packets and emergency room chart packets that literally need to be collated for thousands of patients each month. Groups may meet during normal business hours as well as evenings or weekends to complete the projects.




Patient Information: Two by Two - Are you and your best friend looking for ways to spend time together without spending all that money? What about you and your spouse or even you and your teenage son or daughter? We are looking for two person teams to cover our Surgery Waiting Room evenings from 5:00-8:00 pm. You can sign up for once a week or every other week. Volunteers in the Surgery Waiting Room greet family members, keep them updated of their loved one’s surgery status, unite the family with the surgeon after the procedure, receive information from recovery nurses to share with the family and share room numbers where families are united with their loved one.


Infant & Child Services: “Bridges” - A Center for Grieving Children ~ offers support groups for families with children ages 4-18 who have either experienced the death of a loved one or have someone in their family who is seriously ill. Support groups include: Parent loss, Sibling loss and Crossings a group for children who have lost a parent or sibling to suicide or homicide. “Discoveries” is a group for children living with someone who is seriously ill. You can serve as a children’s group facilitator, a houseparent who welcomes families and assists with regular potluck dinners, or volunteer to help in the gym or “commotion” room.

Help a grieving child build a bridge back to a world of normalcy.


Infant & Child Services: Play date - The importance of play is recognized and endorsed here at MultiCare. Play helps to minimize the stresses many children feel when they come to the hospital and are admitted or who come to the clinic to see their doctor. We are seeking volunteers to partner with our Child Life Specialist to provide and engage children in room to room age appropriate activities. Our Child Life volunteers organize and support activities in the playroom and bring activities and games to children in the Mary Bridge Out Patient Clinic who are waiting for appointments or procedures. Volunteer and bring a smile and a laugh to a waiting child’s face.


Infant & Child Services: Hush little baby - The role of a volunteer is significant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Volunteers comfort the smallest of babies by patting their backs, reading stories and rocking them to sleep. They may also coordinate matching linens or offer a listening ear to a Mom or Dad.


Entertainers: There’s music in the air - Do you play the piano? We have a piano on the Oncology unit just waiting to be played.


Entertainers: Red nose club - MultiCare is proud to have a Therapeutic Clown Program. People with an interest in clowning are specifically trained on how to “perform” in a healthcare setting. Training is provided; all that is required is a funny bone J


Entertainers: Dog Squad - MultiCare Health System offers animal assisted therapy through highly- trained volunteers and dogs. Dogs must be certified after training with such organizations as Delta or Therapy Dogs INC. The dog will be screened for appropriateness and the volunteer handler goes through the volunteer program.



Gift Shops: Gifts Galore - Help families and friends find the perfect gift to express their love and concern for a hospitalized patient. We have a number of different gift shops that could use your time. Our gift shops carry everything from get well cards to unique one of a kind treasure.


Crafting: “Sew”- A Needle Pulling Thread - If you are good with a needle and thread or know how to knit or crochet we have multiple ways you could lend your skills. From making procedure dolls and personalized pillow cases to knitting blankets and hats you can connect one stitch at a time.


Office Support: Detail Wizard - If you are good at detail, have a knack for organizing, possess basic computer skills and like administrative clerical work you’ll be one of the most highly sought out volunteers in our volunteer program. Boy we can keep you busy!!!





Special Events and Other Volunteer Opportunities

Courage Classic ~ A bicycle tour hosted by Mary Bridge Children's Foundation to benefit the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center.


Festival of Trees ~ A holiday fundraising extravaganza with multiple fund raising events hosted by the Mary Bridge Children's Foundation which benefit Services at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center.


Sound to Narrows ~ A fundraising event hosted by the MultiCare Health Foundation to benefit stroke programs and services at MultiCare. Participants collect pledges to run.






Volunteer Services is always interested in creating new volunteer opportunities. If you have an idea for a potential volunteer role come see us and we will work with you to explore the possibilities.

Help Needed!!!!

The New Beginnings Home has contacted me with a list of needs for a mother giving birth to a baby boy on March 7th. I would really like to be able to bless this mother as she is a teen mom, who is still looking for a place to live once her baby is born. If you can give anything whether it be items needed OR gift cards, please do! I'd love to bless the mother's of the New Beginnings Home as they are taking on a much bigger challenge then most of us will ever know.

*if you would like to send a gift card, please do so for either Target or Walmart as these are the closest stores to the New Beginnings Home. Also, please note the specific dollar amount given AND what need it is to meet-this will help us ensure their needs are met and they get everything they need.

HERE IS A LIST OF WHAT'S NEEDED FOR Christina's Baby Boy:

bassinet
crib mattress
crib sheets
nursing pads

Remember, the idea is to give something you already have but are no longer in need of. Something gentily used, something you'd give a good friend for their new baby. We're just asking you give it to a stranger to bless their new journey into Motherhood.

Please contact me ASAP if you can meet one of these needs.

Thank you all so much for your kindness and help!

ALSO: if you know someone who would like to house this mother, even for a short time, please contact the New Beginnings Home right away.

we've been given an opportunity to bless!!!

I am so excited for this post! It's official...we are going to bless the lives of others (well, we will as soon as Friday)!

the Tacoma Rescue Mission's Family House is eager to receive your donations and I will be dropping off everything I have to them this Friday. The Tacoma Rescue Mission has been in Tacoma for almost 100 years and has been blessing the families of Tacoma WA with their Christ based core values. They offer so many programs to help families get on their feet and I was assured they have Mother's in need of the items we have, right now. It is so exciting to know we are about to bless so many Mother's and children with your donations...my heart is wearing a smile today!

Thank you again, to the donors who gave so graciously! I am still hoping to make contact with another facility outreach to teen mother's, so stay tuned for that!

donations donations donations

Here's a look at more donations we've been blessed with! Thank you again, to all of the awesome donors. You will be Blessed twice over!

Ready to Bless

OK, so I want to post when I receive donations. One, because I think it's inspiring to see the kindness of others and Two, because nothing is too small or too 'insignificant' to give. It's it in nice condition (something you'd give to a close friend) and you have no use for it...then it can defiantly bless someone in need.

I have this blog address posted in my profile & post signature on TheBump.com; this is a website full of pregnancy&baby information and full of message boards....which are my silent addiction. I don't draw attention to it, that's not the point, but I felt like I should post it there for anyone who's curious or nosey (like me) to check out, get inspired, and maybe do something to help someone else. Well that an awesome thing that's been...I've received donations from Missouri and Ohio!!! HisKidsInNeed has been blessed by people right here at home, too, and of course I hoped it would be. But to inspire others, so many miles away, to give has been pretty amazing!

Here are some of the great items we've received so far



Formula!!!



(mostly) Girl Clothes, Neutral Blankets, and PJ's



Books! for Mother's

New Beginnings Home

It's been my goal for the past few months now, to make contact with two local orginizations, in hopes the donations I've collected can be of use. I was so excited to make contact with the New Beginnings Home. This is an amazing outreach for teen Mother's in the greater Northwest Washington area; providing learning opportunities, support for Mother's to be (whether they are taking on the parenting role or going to bless another family with the adoption of their child), and even housing for teen Mother's who need it. My family has been a supportor of New Beginnings for years, thru Young Life and local churches, so it was even more exciting for me be given the opportunity to donate to them, as a way I can continue the heart for others that my parents put in me so many years ago.

I know thru the experiance of friends, how amazing the folks at New Beginnings are and how much of a possitive impact they have had on the Mother's who've paths have brought them to the New Beginnings doorstep. My heart is so excited about the opportunity to be a scilent part of this amazing organization.

Because New Beginnings is a working household, storage of items not in use can be more of a hassle then a blessing. I think any Mother can relate to that! So what I've agreed to is, Kristal at New Beginnings will contact me with a specific need one of their Mothers has and I will then relay those needs to my readers, previous donors, and all the family and friends I can think of. This will be a great way to ensure the Mothers in need are getting what they are truly lacking and a way to continue to bring in donations; it will be a great way for me to send a "friendly reminder" that the blog is still here, still trying to bless others.

Keep your eyes open for news of donations needed and for new organizations we are blessing.

blessing others, blessing me

Exciting news: hopfully by weeks end I'll be posting a link to my first organization who we're totally connected with! As I mentioned below, there is a house that helps teen Mom's and they are excited to receive donations. I should be posting a list of items they are specifically looking for, for the Mom's they have in house right now. With this list, I also want to start sending an email 'news letter' of sorts, not just to the blog followers, but to anyone who'd like to recieve the email. My hope is that if an email is sent, it'll be easy for people to pass it along to their friends/relatives who may know someone who can help meet a need. If you'd like to be on the email list, please leave a comment on this post and I'll add you!

I also want to share an amazing thing that happend to me and my family today. I spend time (ok way too much time) on a message board for Mom's and have made some "e-friends". We post pictures of our kids, information to help other Mom's, and normally have lots of laughs! Today I received a message from a Mom who has some formual checks she'd like to send me; she'd seen a comment I left earlier this week about how Simalac informed me they dont send checks to my demographic. I was flored and actually got really teary eyed when I read the message. My husband and I's financial situation has hit the hardest patch yet, since our unemployment and these checks (they are discount coupons really) will help us out tremendously! Within a few hours of the first email, I received a second one from another Mother who'd like to offer coupons! With our next paycheck nowhere in sight, it has truly taken some weight off my heart to know that I will not have trouble providing my daughter with the nutrition she needs.

Today's blessing have truly broughten the "pay it forward" mindset, I've had a true revelation. God is watching, He wants to help, and He will provide!