There are an estimated 980 volunteers throughout the Parkview healthcare system, including the community hospitals and those who give their time to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Indiana, located in Parkview Regional Medical Center. In many cases, they are the first smile our visitors and patients see, the arrow that points them in the right direction, and the bearer of gifts and well wishes for the sick or grieving. They play an essential role in the heart of our facilities, and each is as important as the next.
In celebration of National Volunteer Week, we invited Kesha Jones, a greeter at Parkview Hospital Randallia, to tell us a bit more about her motivation for giving back. Described as a “firecracker” and “ray of sunshine”, Kesha’s presence is a rainbow on others’ stormy day. With a contagious spirit and dedication to serving, she is just one of the eternally optimistic, magnanimous, wonderful People of Parkview.
How long have you been volunteering at Parkview?
Almost 3 1/2 years
What inspired you to start volunteering?
My motivation to volunteer came about when I was seeking out different ways to be more involved with the community.
What are some of your responsibilities?
My daily responsibilities consist of greeting and showing people where to go in the hospital.
What are some of the challenges of your role?
A unique challenge of volunteering is, with all the remodeling that’s going on at Randallia, I have to keep up with the changes so that I’m able to properly direct someone where to go without getting lost.
What are the rewards?
Helping someone and being able to put a smile on someone’s face.
Is there any instance that stands out to you?
One exchange that has stood out to me is one between me and this lady who comes in every week. She’s usually pretty tired after getting her treatments, but before she leaves she makes sure to let me know that my smile always puts her in a better mood.
What’s your personal motto?
“Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.”
What’s your greatest passion outside of work?
Voice Acting with a bit of photography on the side. I’ve always been passionate about telecommunications and have always wanted to be a movie director. But since I don’t have a steady team yet and I’ve been fascinated with animations lately, I decided to get more involved with voice acting first then work my way up to directing movies.
If you could tell people to read one book, what would it be?
Being a young adult, some of my book selections might not suit everyone, but one book I’d suggest people to check out would be “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon. It’s about a young teen who is “supposedly” allergic to the outside world, so her mother doesn’t allow her to leave the house. Until she meets the new neighbor boy. This book reminded me of the movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, with a romantic twist.
What’s on your bucket list and which item do you hope to check off next?
Some things that you would find on my bucket list would be to travel more, become successful in either voice acting or movie directing, and to inspire as many people as I can. As I keep working hard, I plan to check off becoming more successful in voice acting soon.
