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Volunteering: How Helping Others Helps You

Volunteering has a positive effect on your community – and it’s good for you too.  It is a “win-win” situation.  You feel good because you are helping others, and the others feel goof because they are receiving help.  Most volunteers share that after volunteering, they feel as though they were the recipients of the gift.

Opportunity to volunteer exist at the house with base access, an application and attending a tour/training session.  Additional volunteers are needed within the community for staffing events and sharing our mission with others.  Click here to see all.

What’s for Dinner?

Love to share comfort through delicious meals and looking for a way to make a difference? Volunteer to prepare a meal at our Fisher House on Eglin AFB. Sign up here, or for more information, please reach out to staff, 850.883.2865. A happy tummy helps heal a heart! (It’s not a bad therapy for the hands that prepare it either.)

Reasons to Volunteer

Giving back to your community is valuable in itself, but helping others also offers many benefits.  For examples, it can help you learn more about yourself.

Gain or Share Valuable Life Experiences and Skills

Meet Interesting People

Both the people you are helping and your fellow volunteers can give you new insights.  Perhaps teach you empathy or just remind you to be grateful.  No matter what groups of people you are working with, you will find that they have information and ways of looking at the world that can broaden your horizons.

Make a Difference – be a part of something bigger than yourself

It is eye-opening to realize that doing even small things can have a big impact on others.  Every Fisher House has a journal in each of the suites with entries containing stories of a loved one, encouraging words or just a simple thank you.  These words will be read by the next family staying in that room, for them to find peace and hope.  Here we share a few of these words written by our families.

  • “Thank you so much for your hospitality during a very trying time for me and my family.  My son was severely injured at work, falling 24 feet.  He had broken bones and a severe head injury.  Thank God he is responding to treatment and it is my prayer that he will soon return to normal.  My stay here at Fisher House has been a blessing!”
  •  “This place has been a wonderful place to rest while our loved one has been through surgery and recovery.  We have enjoyed have a place to support each other during our time outside the hospital.”

Ever had an unplanned medical event?  It is stressful and chaotic.  Daily routines are disrupted and in some cases, lives altered.  Bonding takes place in an emergency room waiting room and our homes become an extension of that hope and healing through common areas that offer sharing of experiences.  In the 25th anniversary book celebrating our history at the foundation level, a quote by founder Zachary Fisher is printed that says, “I thought maybe it would help people financially, but I didn’t count on the ways families console one another.  No one has to be alone in a motel room anymore.  It just became a tremendous thing, and has blessed my life in many ways.”

How to Get Involved

We have opportunities for all size hearts!

Volunteers are encouraged to support Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, Inc. by participating in special events and community activities hosted by us and our partnership with our dedicated cause champions.  IMG_0540The house provides a compassionate environment where families and caring friends can nurture one another. We rely on house volunteers to ease the everyday burdens of our guests enabling the families to devote all their energy to their loved one’s medical condition and progress.

Calling all Volunteers on Superdrive

A community ambassador is a precious resource of Fisher House.  A volunteer who participates in this program is passionate about the mission, may serve for a period of 12 months or more with some frequency and expresses an interest in representing Fisher House at events and check acceptances for our cause champions, share a specialized talent or skill, staff a promotional booth and distribute information about our organization.

Click Individual-Volunteer-Application 2Individual-Volunteer-Application 2018 complete and submit your interest to director@fisherhouseemeraldcoast.org today!  Please note the attached pdf works interactively from a desktop computer but can  be viewed by a mobile device.  Need one sent directly to your email?  We can do that too, just let us know!

Not sure if superdrive applies to you?  Urban dictionary says Superdrive is something that is more awesome than usual.  Of course you are more awesome than usual.  Commit to CAP for your local Fisher House today!

Considering volunteering?

To get the most out of your experience, ask yourself these questions:

  • What have I done in the past that I’ve enjoyed?
  • What do I want to do as a volunteer ?
  • How much time can I commit?
  • What talents or skills can I offer?
  • What kinds of people do I want to work with?
  • What would I most like to learn by volunteering?

We are NUTS about our volunteers!  Squirrel Nut 2016For more information on how you can become a nut loved by us, please telephone: 850-259-4956.