Sporting a special purple jacket that identifies them as hospital volunteers, hundreds of individuals offer their time at the Hadassah Medical Organization to enhance the healing of its patients. Their inspiring stories are featured in the July issue of Hadassah Magazine.

One of the volunteers is 43-year-old Shuki Rock, who was among the first recovered COVID-19 patients to volunteer in the COVID-19 Outbreak units. “The moment I heard about the program, I knew it was for me,” said Rock, who lives in Modi’in with his wife and four daughters. Rock was one of more than 40 “antibody volunteers,” as they were called. “I’d been really ill with COVID-19, and I knew the importance of having someone with you when you’re isolated and afraid, talking to you, bringing you a drink, and holding your hand.”

HMO’s volunteer program, comprised of young Israeli men and women in National Service to seniors and retirees, is headed by social worker Talia Hirschman. The volunteers, she says, are of multiple faiths and ethnicities, and they work from two to 20 hours a week. Hadassah provides transportation to those who live in Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, as well as basic Hebrew classes for those who know little Hebrew.

Most departments at Hadassah Ein Kerem and Hadassah Mount Scopus have volunteers, as do Hadassah’s clinics, offices, and even hospital kitchens. The volunteer department also places Hadassah members from the US who want to donate several months of their time to the hospital.

Read the full article by Wendy Elliman and meet Leah, mother of five who volunteers in the maternity unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem; Jackie, who volunteers at Hadassah’s Michaelson Institute for the Rehabilitation of Vision; volunteer musicians Lawrence Levene and Karin Goldberg; Mustapha Shehadeh, an Israeli Arab who helps out in the general intensive care unit and many more individuals who enjoy donating their time to Hadassah.