Sarah's Volunteering Story

Sarah Gay has been volunteering as a Hospice receptionist for over 15 years.

Sarah comes to the Hospice having worked over 20 years in customer service at Marks and Spencer. This experience, along with her warm and friendly manner, make her perfect for welcoming visitors and families. She volunteers one day a week and is busy answering calls and directing calls from families, colleagues and organisations, announcing visitors and updating the admissions/discharges diary.

Volunteering on reception at the Hospice like Sarah does is a wonderful way to donate time while also providing a vital service. She gets to know many of the families well and follows their stories.

Sarah is just one of the over 500 volunteers that donate their skills and time to help the Hospice provide quality care to those with terminal illness and their families. Volunteers offer support for any number of reasons. For some it is about giving back to the Kent community and for others, it is a way of expressing gratitude for how the Hospice cared for a loved one.

For Sarah, who has lived in Bearsted all her life, it was both. “My mother had volunteered at the Hospice for many years. Through her, I have always been aware of the important role it fills in the community. It provides a tremendous service. I saw it first-hand when my mother and my mother-in law were both supported by the Hospice at home.”