Thomas Memorial Hospital has a culture of giving.  The organization benefits from volunteerism in three ways.  This win/win/win situation involves receiving volunteer services from people in the community, employees are provided with information on community needs, and the hospital maintains a positive image through its support of community causes. 

The hospital benefits from volunteerism in numerous ways, including both traditional and new methods.  As is customary, volunteers are used for: information desk, surgical waiting room, and gift shop staff.  Innovative ways to further use volunteers might include: emergency department, diabetic education, plant operations, material management, medical records, and baby cuddlers.  Thomas feels it is important for volunteers to understand the value of their contribution and feel a part of the team.  Therefore, volunteers are provided with new skills.  Volunteers go through an application, interview, and training process similar to paid employees. 

Thomas fosters an attitude of volunteerism among their employees.  The hospital understands the value of belonging to a community and therefore seeks to give back to their community.  Hospital staff are dedicated to reviewing causes and disseminating information on worthy programs to their employees. This information is emailed to managerial staff who are responsible for distributing it to their employees and posting flyers.  The hospital encourages their employees to volunteer as teams.  This not only encourages employees to volunteer, it also fosters camaraderie among staff.  An interesting approach the hospital takes is to encourage their volunteers to participate with staff on volunteer teams.

The hospital maintains a positive image with the community by being involved in community philanthropic needs.  Their team participation allows the hospital to receive community exposure.  Employees of the hospital also benefit from the giving of co-workers.  A Giving Program was created to help employees in need.  In this program employees contribute time and money to help their co-workers.  Money is also contributed by fundraisers coordinated by employees.  A committee reviews anonymous request for assistance from their staff, and makes determination of assistance.  The generosity of employees can help one of their own in a time of need. 

Thomas participated in the recent statewide food drive.  The company found it to be a wonderful cause everyone could relate to.  Information was distributed in their normal dissemination channels.  Almost immediately employees started asking questions about how they could help.  The various departments planned drop-off locations for their employees.  On September 11 the food was collected and picked up by Mountaineer Food Bank.  Two additional pickups had to be scheduled to meet the continued volume of giving.  Ideas are already arising for competitions among the various departments for next year’s food drive. 

Thomas has found a way to incorporate giving in all areas of operations.  Set your company standards high like Thomas Memorial Hospital, by encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism.