Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: Welcome to Kindness in Action, the podcast where our host, first grader Kate Royer, shines a light on everyday heroes transforming lives through their passion for giving back.
Join us as we explore inspiring stories of service, compassion, and the powerful impact of volunteering. Let's celebrate the kindness shaping our world one story at a time.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Hello, my name is Kay Royer. I'm talking to guests about their volunteer work today. Our guest is Ron Meyer, my grandpa.
So tell us about your volunteering.
[00:00:54] Speaker C: Well, currently I volunteer at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital one morning a week and I drive a parking lot shuttle. The shuttle itself is a sort of like a large golf cart. It sits seats six people. And I drive around the parking lots and look for people who might need a ride from their car up to the hospital or from the hospital out to their car because the parking lots are very large and anyone who has a mobility issue finds it difficult to walk those long distances in the parking lots.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: What's the hardest part of your volunteer work?
[00:01:43] Speaker C: There's really nothing hard about that particular job. The volunteer department at St. Vincent has the job set up very well. The cart is readily available. It's an electric cart. They keep it charged. They kind of do the hard part so that my job is easy. When I show up there on Tuesday morning, I just go out to the parking garage, pick up the shuttle and start driving, start picking up people.
So there really isn't any difficult part.
The part that I enjoy the most about that job is simply meeting and helping new people.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: It's kind of funny because the next question was supposed to be what's the most rewarding part of what you do? So you already did that. Answer that. Basically, what's the funnest part of your job?
[00:02:39] Speaker C: Well, in terms of fun, I would think it would be things that people say sometimes where they have a good sense of humor and they might say something that is funny. You know, a lot of times when people are coming to the hospital, coming to visit a friend or a family member who's.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: So it's usually not going just because of their cell.
[00:03:02] Speaker C: Well, and that's the other, the other type of writer. I get the rider who is going into the hospital, either to the emergency room or into the main hospital to have some imaging done or procedure.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: Tell me about a funny story from your volunteering experience.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: I would say I found this one particular patient amusing. She had a good sense of humor, and I'll tell you about her. When I first approached her, she told me that she would be going into the hospital to have a knee replacement. And the longer I talked to her, I realized that through her telling me primarily that she also was having problems with her other knee, but she had just had the sunniest dispositions and the best frame of mind. She was so positive about entering into the process of getting her knees fixed and chuckled about her misfortune of having both the knees have issue. And although it wasn't a funny topic, she was such an upbeat and sparkly personality that it was fun talking with her.
[00:04:19] Speaker B: What inspired you to get involved with this particular non profit?
[00:04:25] Speaker C: Well, first of all, I learned about this opportunity from my older daughter who works at St. Vincent. She told me about the opportunity and I thought that I would enjoy it for the same reason that I do enjoy it, and that is because I have the opportunity to meet a lot of people, a lot of new people.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Both of my. Well, your oldest daughter works out there, but my mom has opportunities to go there, but she's not at staff, so. Yeah.
[00:05:03] Speaker C: Yes, that's right.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: If you could share one piece of advice for someone thinking about volunteering, what would it be?
[00:05:12] Speaker C: Well, I would think that an important part of volunteering is how much contact do you want to have with new people. There are certain types of volunteer work where you're mostly behind the scenes doing important things that help people. And then there are other jobs where you're actually working directly with people who need help face to face. And I would say one of the important things for people who are going to volunteer is to decide which of those two opportunities interests them the most.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: Has volunteering changed your perspective?
[00:05:54] Speaker C: Well, I think encountering new people and sometimes learning about some of the problem, medical problems or other challenges that they face makes me more appreciative of things that are going well in my life.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Thank you for spending your time here, but is there any other things you would like to talk about?
[00:06:20] Speaker C: I think that's all for today.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: Thanks for spending your time on this and love you and bye.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: Well, thank you very much for having me as a guest and I love you too.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: Hey, what if we let Elsa and Jack record a podcast?
[00:06:36] Speaker C: That would be interesting. Now that would be funny.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Thank you for tuning in to Kindness in Action. We hope these stories inspire you to make a difference in your own way. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who needs a little extra kindness in their day. Until next time, Remember, small acts of kindness can create big waves of change. See you soon.
