Twenty area high school students have volunteered over 2,500 hours so far this year working at Doctors Hospital of Manteca in their after school hours.
They work from one to four days a week totaling four to eight hours a week covering the reception desk, running errands, taking water to patients in their rooms, and providing clean linens.
Hospital Auxiliary members Mae Noonan and Julia Owens are the students’ advisors bringing the students into the hospital in an orientation class.
The next class is set for December or January. Student must be at least 14 to apply for the volunteer positions.
Sierra High School junior Beatriz Lechuga, 16, was quick to express her reasons for joining the student volunteer group.
“I believe my experience at Doctors Hospital has been a positive experience. The main reason I am in the program is so I can find out what I would like to do in the future. Currently I would like to be a lawyer, but I would like to keep an open mind before making one of the most important decisions that will impact my life,” she said.
“What I hope to accomplish, and have already accomplished by volunteering here is to give back to the community in a way that I witness it actually benefitting others,” said Sierra Freeman, an East Union High junior. “It’s amazing what an improvement we can make in a patient’s day when we simply offer a kind word or a glass of water. It’s worth the time and effort to know that I’m helping. And, although I don’t wish to pursue a career in the medical field, this has been an ongoing learning experience which has taught me a lot about the importance of selflessness and compassion to others, both on and off the job.”
“In the future I am hoping to find a position in the medical field that I am interested in to study and work in,” said Jordan Lamb, 16, a Sierra High junirr, “ I think that experiencing what goes on in the hospital environment is very important and I enjoy being there and helping out as much as possible.”
Other students involved in the program include: Brittany Burch, Ashley Cosgrove, Earl Estrella, Annie Fleming, Erica Gutierrez, Liya Habte, Omar Hashemyan, John-Alan Hewitt, Dai-ling Ma, Hilda Martinez, Claudia Myers, Eddie Reza, Bryanna Arneola, Juliana Barst, Mary Cordwell, Malinda Moore, and Albert Ngugi. Alejandra Perez and Olga Friaz.
