As part of our COVID-19 infection prevention efforts, volunteer programs across Duke Health were suspended in March. Jerry Fuller and Dave Waters, regular volunteers at Duke Raleigh Hospital (DRaH), wondered what they would do to fill the void.
Fuller, a volunteer at DRaH since 2002, was assisting in materials management six hours a day, three days a week. Waters had been volunteering two days a week for more than one year in pre-admission testing.
Around the same time, the Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community, where both men live, began experiencing issues with their mail.
Mail carriers weren’t willing to adhere to Springmoor’s COVID safety requirements to enter the facility. That meant mail for more than 600 residents was dropped off in the lobby and left to be sorted and delivered.
Without hesitation, Fuller and Waters sprang into action.
“We both jumped in and volunteered to coordinate the mail delivery,” said Waters. “We want to help people as much as possible and support the community.”
Every Monday through Saturday the men are notified between 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. that the mail has arrived. Next, they enlist more than 10 volunteers. First-class mail is placed in resident mailboxes while second and third-class mail, along with packages, are placed in personalized bins or delivered to the resident’s door.
The fact that they found another way to be helpful during this time shows who they are as people,” said Zachary Baker, manager of service excellence and volunteer services at DRaH. “They are consistently looking to make a difference and truly living our Duke values.”
Both men are looking forward to returning to DRaH when possible.
“My favorite part about volunteering at Duke Raleigh was the comradery with the other volunteers,” said Fuller. “I also miss the team I worked with in Materials.”
“They were always so gracious and appreciative of what I was doing,” continued Waters. “The pre-admission testing crew is a great group of people.”
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