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Teens find great experience in hospice care

By Michele Miller, Staff Writer
In print: Saturday, June 28, 2008

Alan Baumann, 14, and Candise Poirer, 15, both from New Port Richey, bring a youthful energy to Hernando-Pasco Hospice.
	[MICHELE MILLER | Times]

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NEW PORT RICHEY — It started with a random search through the local phone book.

Candise Poirer, 15, and Alan Baumann, 14, were looking for a way to earn the 75 community service volunteer hours that are required for Florida Bright Futures scholarships. They picked Hernando-Pasco Hospice.

But unlike many of their peers who left after completing their hours, these two keep showing up.

"They stand out like beacons," said volunteer coordinator Sheena Thompson as she rattled off the tasks the two have tackled during their six months of service: working with youngsters at Camp Sol grief camps; directing parking lot traffic, handing out programs and serving refreshments at the Time for Remembrance Memorial Services; filing in the office; tossing beads off the hospice float during the Chasco parade and working at fundraisers at the Gulf View Square mall.

Alan said he would be just hanging around the house this summer if he weren't volunteering three days a week at the Marliere Hospice Care Center.

"It's a great experience, especially at the (grief) camps," Alan said.

Volunteering has also helped Alan, who is typically shy, to come out of his shell a bit.

"I've noticed that I can talk to people easier," he said. "I never was able to talk to kids before. Now I can talk in front of the class (at school). I wasn't able to do that before."

"It's rewarding. It's something to do," Candise said. "And the people here are really great. They really care."

There are 50 to 60 volunteers of all ages working in various capacities in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties, said Katy Geschke, the volunteer program manager for Hernando-Pasco Hospice.

"Most of the adults have a reason for being here," she said. "Maybe they've lost a loved one — we've taken care of their loved one."

While there are approximately 30 youth volunteers, that tends to wax and wane, said Thompson, noting that she'd like to see more.

"The youth volunteers bring a different energy to the place. The older folks love to see them," she said. "They're sharp — they tackle tasks with enthusiasm."

Candise and Alan, who will be sophomores this fall at Ridgewood High, say they plan to continue volunteering and both intend to work in patient care — reading to patients, writing letters for them and playing cards with them — when they each turn 16, the required age for that assignment.

"It's a wonderful thing," Thompson said. "They started out wanting to get their volunteer hours, but their motivation changed. That's what I want to see. I want them to feel that sense of altruism. I want them to enjoy the experience and gain from the experience."

Michele Miller can be reached at miller@sptimes.com or at (727) 869-6251.