VNSNY’s Volunteers Provide a Multi-Generational Outpouring of Support

When VNSNY volunteer Olga Ferguson learned that a member of her daughter’s Girl Scout troop was sewing cloth masks for her Silver Award project, Olga thought right away of VNSNY. That’s how seventh-grader Michaela Interlandi, assisted by her mother, Wendy, came to make 400 colorful and creatively patterned cloth masks for VNSNY staff.

“It feels really great to do my part, knowing that the essential workers have what they need and they won’t be struggling as much,” says Michaela, whose cloth masks are used daily by VNSNY staff for commuting to work and other non-clinical settings. “I was happy when they posted pictures on Instagram in the masks.”

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, VNSNY volunteers have rallied to support and uplift VNSNY staff, patients and families. With hospice volunteers, who are an essential part of VNSNY Hospice, having to suspend in-person visits during the pandemic, hospice volunteer managers Melissa Cambio, Kimberlyn Kinlock, Alison Reynoso and Gail Sirota have seized new opportunities for volunteers to lend support, motivation and inspiration—often with the help of their school-age children. “These children, who are so deeply affected by the pandemic, are coming together and mobilizing to make a difference in whatever way that they can, whether it’s making cards, drawing pictures, or sewing masks,” says Melissa.

Nine-year-old Lee Gwilliam, son of VNSNY volunteer Lisa Gwilliam, was inspired to help VNSNY’s frontline workers by making collage-themed handmade cards for them. “I want them to be happy,” says Lee. Adds his mother, “We hope they’ll feel like somebody’s thinking about them when they open their cards.”

Stay strong, encourage the colorful cards that the students of Middle School 88 in Park Slope, Brooklyn made for health care workers. Thanks to hospice nurse Hannah Schwartz, whose sixth-grade daughter Alice is one of the artists, those inspiring messages made their way to VNSNY’s front lines. “I’ve received so many wonderful responses,” says Hannah. “I got a note just the other day from a colleague who said, ‘The cards from your daughter’s class made me feel appreciated for working over the weekend.’ And I know what a tough shift that can be!” Here is a slideshow of the cards:

Hannah notes that the desk in Alice’s bedroom where she crafted the cards belonged to Hannah’s grandmother, who was born in 1908 and lived to age 98—so the desk has now seen two pandemics, including the 1918 Spanish Flu. “I encourage my daughter to think about life in the long haul,” she says. “Things are difficult now, but I remind her that this pandemic will be part of her history like 1918 was part of her great-grandmother’s history.”

Hospice nurse Jaime Derkach works in Staten Island’s hard-hit nursing homes, and she knows how important it is for workers to feel valued amid so much challenge. When Melissa mentioned that VNSNY volunteers were making cards of support, Jamie put together a delivery list. “I wrote down everybody who should get one: doctors, nurses, social workers, certified nurse aides (CNAs)—everyone involved in the care of our patients,” she says. “I wanted them to feel just as important as the ‘health care heroes’ you see on TV.”

The feeling of support for front-line staff among VNSNY’s volunteers is summed up in the words of volunteer and retired Hospice Team Manager Margaret DeGasperis, in a card to hard-working nursing home CNAs: “Thank you for your outstanding care for our VNSNY Hospice patients in your facility. We are all in this together, especially at this difficult time.”

Channeling Extraordinary Good Will

“This organization is fortunate to be so well supported by people who believe in what we are doing,” says Michael Ambrosini, VNSNY’s Director of Corporate Community Relations & Volunteer Services. “When COVID-19 came around, we needed to figure out how to leverage all the good will that VNSNY volunteers have for us—and help them help us make an impact.”

Michael harkened back to his experience during Superstorm Sandy, brainstorming how volunteers could help in a reshaped landscape. Volunteers’ contributions during the current pandemic include robust fundraising, PPE procurement, and other forms of donation and support. With considerable help from volunteers, Michael and the volunteer management team have spearheaded two virtual fundraising events this spring, as well as a PPE sourcing campaign that secured vast donations of personal protective equipment, including thousands of masks, gloves, goggles, gowns, face shields and more.

To date, these efforts have brought in over 150,000 PPE items, valued at over $700,000. One of the most memorable donations was a shipment of 920 cases of 80% alcohol hand sanitizer—over 11,000 bottles in all, worth over a quarter million dollars—from the Pernod-Ricard Distillery. Michael learned about it early one Friday morning in May from a very surprised Sal Bastardi, VP of Corporate Administrative Services, who immediately put the vital resource to use throughout the organization.

Manager of Volunteer Services Naomi Bibbins is channeling the time and energy of her volunteers to shop online, using the VNSNY Volunteer Committee’s fundraising monies for resources that patients need to stay safe and healthy. These include diapers, a safety gate, car seats or other essential products for families in our pediatric Palliative Care programs and young mothers in the Nurse-Family Partnership; food for patients facing food scarcity; and utility bill or rent payments for families with an emergency need. Naomi also logs and keeps a running total of PPE donations and their value, sending this information to the Development department for acknowledgment letters to be sent to donors.

As always, our community partners are also integral to VNSNY’s daily delivery of care, and that is certainly in evidence in Chinatown. Christine Lee, President of the Chinese American Nurses Association (CANA)—a valuable community partner—delivered 2,000 donated surgical masks to the VNSNY Chinatown Community Center. Teresa Lin, Director of Cultural Market Development Initiatives, posted a LinkedIn message thanking the CANA deeply for their generosity and for keeping VNSNY’s staff and patients safe.

A ‘Village’ of Support

Our hospice volunteer managers continue to receive an enthusiastic response to their calls to donate PPE, sew fabric masks and send greeting cards to patients, families, caregivers and staff. Among those who heeded their call were these hospice volunteers:

Amy H.—along with her clients from the NYU Family Support Program, where she is a recreational therapist—made 40 (and counting!) cards to support patients, caregivers and staff. 

Kaung S. has sent out 25 handmade cards so far, and is working on more. “It is my absolute pleasure and joy to get a chance to send cards,” he says. “I hope it brightens up their day.” 

Madhumita C., who sings to hospice patients and their families with the Threshold Choir, sewed fabric masks herself and also connected VNSNY with the New York Sewing Center—resulting in a total donation of over 500 cloth masks.

Laurie R. advertised VNSNY’s need for PPE with her chorale group, prompting a donation of 300 face shields from a yeshiva in Philadelphia. “It feels good in these days of isolation to be part of a chain that can help those who most need it,” says Laurie. The chorale group’s associate conductor added: “Don’t we all love it when ‘the village’ it takes comes together and makes a difference? I’m grateful for your work and personal commitment to helping your fellow humans in this horrible calamity—and most especially the VNSNY, on the front lines of aid and comfort. You are all stars and angels!”

To read more VNSNY Heroes of 2020 stories, click here.