Day Eleven

It's odd to think we'll be home on Saturday. It feels like we've been on the road forever, but it also feels like we could keep going another two weeks, especially since we've been meeting some of the nicest and most fantastic people...like Bev Catalano, the Volunteer Services Director at the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

We met Bev first thing this morning at her facility on 23rd Street in Cheyenne, WY and she was gracious enough to take us on an hour-long tour of the medical center and then spent about another hour answering all of our questions about her work with volunteers. She staffs the various volunteer stations in the center and organizes fund-raisers throughout the year in order to donate money to various center projects, like purchasing new furniture for the 9th floor solarium and a flat screen TV for the 3rd floor pre-op waiting room.

Primarily, the volunteers perform administrative duties at each station, but they also work on crafts like baby photo collages for the 5th floor OB/Maternity Ward, and participate in the various fund-raisers throughout the year. Because of recent patient privacy laws, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), and the instillation of paid internships, Bev has seen a depletion in the amount of volunteers over the years. It was because of these laws that Tarona and I weren't able to volunteer our time and services at the center because we would have had to wait out a background check and we were only available for the one day. However, we did offer to write about the center's needs in our blog and keep in touch with Bev once we returned home to see if there was anything we could offer the center even from across the country. As mentioned in our Mission Statement, Tarona and I want to continue our relationships with these organizations after our visits because volunteering is a gift that keeps on giving--for both parties.

Bev mentioned the center's need for receiving blankets for the 1,200 births a year it has. While she has been blessed with volunteers across the country who sew for fun and provide her with pillows, booties, and blankets, there's always a need for more. Bev seeks out sales at various fabric stores whenever she can, but, if you're anywhere in America reading this and have yards of unused fabric (especially something with a nursery-themed pattern), please send them Bev's way:

Bev Catalano
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center
214 East 23rd Street
Cheyenne, WY 82001
307.633.7513 p
bev.catalano@crmcwy.org

In addition, if you're in Cheyenne and can offer any of the following, please contact Bev as well:

children's books (in good condition)
magazines (backdated no more than 6 months)
corporate sponsorship (for materials and supplies needed for fund-raisers)

After our visit with Bev, Tarona and I started the drive to our next stop: Omaha, NE, where gas is $3.39/gallon.

On our way to Nebraska
We had reached out to Lutheran Family Services (which provides human care services that build and strengthen individual, family and community life) prior to our trip. We hadn't heard back from anyone about our offer to visit and volunteer, so we decided to do an impromptu drive-by. Our timing was off, though, since the office was closed when we arrived, but we were able to drop off some books in the lobby and sprinkle our happy fairy dust before we set off to Chicago, IL.