Volunteering:
They'll be There for You
FRIENDS celebrates its 50th anniversary
Christine Seifert (left) and Lucille Zink are two of the 65 volunteers at the FRIENDS Gift Shops. Sales from the shops support Health System projects.If you’ve bought anything from one of the three FRIENDS Gift Shops, you’ve contributed to our patients and community.
What started in 1959 as a small sales counter in the former Main Hospital selling cards and sundries has blossomed into a vital organization that supports millions of dollars of Health System projects.
Board President Nancy Bates attributes FRIENDS’ success to the commitment of its large cadre of volunteers—65 at present. “We couldn’t do it without them,” says Bates, who has volunteered for 13 years.
Bonnie Wilkinson retired from a career as a corporate lawyer on a Friday in 2007, trained at the Gift Shop on Saturday and started volunteering the following week. Wilkinson says, “I love being part of the positive energy and the helpful, great service attitude. You feel like you’re doing your part to help. It’s not a big time commitment, yet I get so much out of it.”
Christine Seifert, a junior in Nuclear Engineering, started volunteering as a freshman. “I love Ann Arbor so much, I wanted to give something back.” Today, her four-hour weekly stint as a cashier gives her a chance to do just that. “Even a smile or a ‘how are you today’ brightens someone’s day.”
Gift Shop memberships, available for as a little as $25 a year, give the member a 20 percent discount, and go directly to patient education and services. —CM
"Kudos to you for making this information about the gift shop available to all of us. This is not commonly known information about the gift shop. I have supported them for years because I know the Mott hospital receives their help. I think it would be a good marketing strategy to post a list on the window of the gift shops of all the places, people and programs we all support by buying from them." - Mary Jo O'Kelley, Psych Emergency Services
"The Depression Center is extremely grateful for support from FRIENDS for our patient and family education programs, and we congratulate them on their 50th anniversary!
" - Gail Campanella, Depression Center
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