Trust celebrates the dedication of volunteers

Transcript

00:00My name's Dan McCartan. I joined volunteering in 2014. I was coming out of addiction recovery

00:10and I needed something to fill my day and I joined the volunteering children's services

00:18and it was just absolutely fantastic. I had something, you know, that I could give to

00:25children that I didn't give to my own children due to my addiction.

00:30So we've had volunteers come into the emergency department for a number of years now. Patients

00:34come to the emergency department and quite often they're anxious, concerned, they don't

00:37plan to be here in the day and it's been something that's happened. So just to have someone there

00:41to be a friendly face and say hello and keep them right makes such a difference to them

00:45and we would be lost without our volunteers. We really do appreciate them.

00:49You know, what I got back out of it is absolutely unreal. It's the most rewarding thing that

00:54I've ever done in my life. It keeps me living. I would always say that Ward 15 saved my life.

01:01Recovery meetings will keep me sober, but volunteering keeps me alive, keeps me living.

01:07For me, it's a gift, you know. I would say alcohol was took from me and I was given the

01:13gift of volunteering because that's exactly what it is to me.

01:18The Breastfeeding Support Service was one of the most amazing things. Any new mom, it's

01:25not only for the mental load and the physical load. It's just the fact to know that there

01:30is someone there for you any moment. You cannot buy this. This is something that I would have

01:37not been able to pay back ever. As I always picture this, it's like she gave me wings

01:43when mine were broken.

01:48For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov