Recognizing our volunteers!
“What a sweet Providence it is to find friends thus willing to assist us.”
– Saint Mother Theodore Guerin
During the month of April, we honored all of our wonderful volunteers as we celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Month.
Volunteer Director Sarah Knoblock kicked off the month with a blog about how much we appreciate all our volunteers hard work and dedication for and with the Sisters of Providence.
And on April 28, we culminated the month-long festivities with our annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, which took place in the Providence Hall Community Room.
Telling the Story
Sarah offered a PowerPoint presentation, explaining how much the volunteers are appreciated for all of their efforts. The statistics she provided really tell the story of how valuable all of our volunteers are to us.
In the past year, between 150-200 people offered volunteer services for the Congregation, including 30 new or temporary volunteers.
She explained how 50 non-sisters help regularly and 50-75 offer services during special events. Many Sisters of Providence also take part in the volunteer program.
For example, Sarah said 72 people volunteered more than 320 hours for our 2023 Christmas Fun at the Woods event. During our annual Phonathon earlier this year, 59 people volunteered more than 340 hours and 68 people offered more than 380 volunteer hours for our 2024 Earth Day Festival!
Sarah explained that in 2023, many of the Sisters of Providence volunteers tallied 33,505 hours of service while non-sisters offered more than 5,000 volunteer hours.
Sarah added that all of the volunteer hours equaled out to 20 full-time employees, essentially meaning that our volunteer program saves the Congregation close to $900,000 annually.
Appreciation
General Superior Sister Dawn Tomaszewski also addressed the volunteers, saying “I can’t possibly cover or even imagine all the ways our lives would be different here without you.”
“I offer a wholehearted thank you from all the Sisters of Providence for your service,” Sister Dawn continued. “Please know that you are both needed and appreciated. May we as Sisters of Providence never take your kindness and generosity for granted.
“The best offer I can make in that regard is that you and your needs are always included in the prayers of this Providence Community.”
After the presentation, all who attended were treated to the delicious luncheon and fellowship.
Do you want to volunteer with the Sisters of Providence? If you do, contact Sarah at 812-535-2878 or email volunteer@spsmw.org or visit Volunteer.SistersofProvidence.org for more information.
Below is the prayer General Councilor Sister Anne Therese Falkenstein offered during the luncheon:
Prayer for Volunteer Luncheon
Provident God, all that makes us who we are and all that we can accomplish comes from you.
You have made each of us into one collective heart so that we may bring light and love to the world.
We thank you for blessing us with incredible talents and the desire to serve.
Continue to inspire us through Jesus our brother, Mother Theodore our companion, and your people whom we serve.
Keep us strong in mind, body, and spirit as we strive to be a positive force for others.
Grant that we may always be a community of compassion and goodwill.
Bless the food we are about to eat, the people who have grown it, prepared it, and made it available to us.
May our time together today be a sign of our unity, gratefulness for the gifts you have given, and an acknowledgment of the profound impact that each of us has on all of us.
Amen.
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