Teens ‘paying it forward’ at TAMC
PRESQUE ISLE — The Aroostook Medical Center is encouraging area youth to “pay it forward” by volunteering their time and creating a new program to help make it happen.
Presque Isle High School and most other area high schools are requiring that students perform a number of hours volunteering each year in order to graduate. In response to this requirement, TAMC has created a new volunteer initiative for high school students, “TAMC Teens Paying It Forward.”
“Our youth are our future leaders,” said Sherry Beaulieu, manager of volunteer services. “Encouraging teenage students to get involved with volunteering at TAMC at a young age is a great way to inspire service to others, community connectivity and encourage career goals toward health care.”
The new volunteer program requires that the teen have a desire to serve while learning valuable skills and be at least 14 years of age. They are also required to have a recommendation from a teacher, school leader/representative, civic organization or other community business leader. TAMC has been accepting teen volunteers for several years, but Beaulieu believes the new program will motivate more students to participate.
Volunteers like Katelyn Hewitt have enjoyed serving patients, visitors and employees at TAMC.
“Volunteering is a great opportunity to give back to the community,” said Hewitt, a senior at Caribou High School who is looking forward to studying criminal justice at the University of Maine at Presque Isle next year.
She has been a volunteer since June 2011 assisting at such events as the Relay for Life and working on special projects like creating a TAMC historical slideshow which was shown at an employee recognition event.
“That project took about eight hours,” added Hewitt. “It didn’t seem that long because I enjoyed it so much.”
Although definitely not a requirement for volunteering, some volunteers join TAMC in order to learn more about career opportunities in the health care field. Jaylyn Levasseur, a junior at PIHS, volunteers in social services and orthopedics at the hospital, and also works on special projects for other departments.
“When I first wanted to become a volunteer I wanted to be here to get a feel for the hospital because I was looking to become what I like to call ‘the next Dr. Pelli,’” said Levasseur. Dr. Pelli, TAMC’s chief medical information officer, is an osteopathic doctor and hospitalist that offered Levasseur the chance to accompany him during his daily job duties, commonly referred to as “job shadowing.”
Levasseur has since shifted her interest into the occupational therapy field, with a specialty in working with autistic children. Although still a high school junior, she is already looking forward to going to college.
“Our volunteers bring so much heart and enthusiasm to this organization, however, if you ask a few of them they will probably tell you that volunteering is a two-way street and that they think that they get the better end of the deal,” said Beaulieu. “Folks of all ages volunteer at TAMC for a variety of reasons, and we work together to find the best fit for anyone looking to volunteer at TAMC.”
Volunteers help the organization with special events and projects, clerical office duties, facility grounds keeping and beautification efforts, gift shop clerk, clinical support including patient rounding, and many other duties. Teens are encouraged to contact TAMC Volunteer Services at 768-4032 for more information.
