Donating time fun, rewarding

National Volunteer Week is hitting full stride, but life is business as usual for the many volunteers of Havre. Although many feel that they lead busy lives already, volunteering is a source of pride and accomplishment for most. At Northern Montana Hospital and Care Center, volunteers are greeting visitors, passing around flowers, running the gift shop and simply making the stress of being in the hospital a little less so. "Extremely vital" is how Claire Wendland, the volunteer manager at Northern Montana Hospital, described the importance of volunteers to the functioning of the medical center. "They really put the polish on the care the patients receive. They add the human touch for the patients and their families. Without them, the hospital experience would not be near as personal," Wendland said. The hospital has volunteer opportunities for just about everyone, from teens to senior citizens, she said. "The volunteers own the gift shop," she said. "They decide at the end of the year how to use the funds raised to give back. "Volunteens, the young adults' volunteer program, have recently started doing basic manicures at the Care Center," Wendland said. "Just basic filing and polish, but it's wonderful for the residents to feel nice." The Havre Food Bank in North Havre was bustling with volunteers filling food boxes for clients, cleaning and organizing the shelves on Wednesday "I love my volunteers," said Jessica Cook, assistant manager of the Food Bank. "Some days here are so hectic that without their hands it would be very hard to do everything." The Food Bank gets volunteers from Probation, TANF and other organizations, as well as people who Just want to be there. "We just really ask that each of our volunteers treat this as a paying job; they need to know we are counting on them to be here to help." Food Bank volunteering includes bringing in and organizing the food donations, gathering egg crates to be filled with fresh farm eggs, weighing the food boxes before they are given ou, and making sure the shelves, coolers and freezers are stocked up. Evon Berger at Kitty Keepers agrees that volunteers are generally an industrious group. "They pretty much do everything we need done around here," Berger said. "There's a lot to do from feeding, brushing, to emptying litter boxes," she said. A lot of the cats have been there for years and some have returned after they had found a home, Berger said, adding that cats being returned "usually only happens when there is a lifechanging event, such as a move or sudden change in health though." The cats and kittens at Kitty Keepers are well cared for with a house, screened in porches and a barn for the cats who need to be isolated from the group, but there is one thing that's missing: socialization. "The most important thing our volunteers do is socialize the cats," said Berger. "The cats really need to see lots of different people coming and going; to get used to that, so we can find them forever homes."