Martinsburg VA Medical Center wraps up Summer 2023 Youth Volunteer Program
PRESS RELEASE
August 18, 2023
Martinsburg , WV — The Martinsburg VA Medical Center bid goodbye to 48 youth volunteers who have concluded their summer volunteerism with 2700 hours of combined volunteer service with the medical center’s 2023 Summer Youth Volunteer program.
The eight-week program began on June 12th and youth volunteers worked in 11 different services at the medical center. Youth volunteers had a variety of jobs including greeting Veterans and helping them to their appointments, putting together medical support kits, supporting recreational therapy such as ball-tossing, playing bingo with residents and folding informational pamphlets.
Terry Stotler, Chief of Voluntary Services at the medical center, said the volunteers provide more than just a helping hand to Veterans.
“Our youth volunteers bring energy, inquisitiveness, and an innocence that our patients really respond to and helping with transport, recreation and special activities give our volunteers the chance to really connect with our residents.”
The benefits to youth volunteers are equally profound, helping youth to build socialization and customer service skills and learn about the world of health care and Veterans.
“Our youth volunteers get real world experience in a work setting, have the chance to learn about health care career, they make friends and bond with each other, and many parents have told us that it helps bring them out of their shells,” said Stotler.
Eliana Mosby is a senior at Martinsburg High School and has volunteered for three summers, logging over 400 hours of service. She has three generations of Mosby women in her family who have worked at the VA, including her mother, who encouraged her to volunteer.
“It’s important to help people who have served us and give them service,” said Mosby. “And this work has given me so many skills, like customer service, and learning to talk to people.”
Mosby plans to pursue a degree in medicine to become a cardiologist someday.
“It provides our volunteers the opportunity to experience healthcare and, in many cases, has led to them becoming doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and many other medical careers. Many of our volunteers have even gone on to serve in the military themselves,” Stotler added.
The medical center will begin accepting names for the summer 2024 season in April 2024 and will accept up to 50 youth. For the new season, youth volunteers must be between the ages of 14 and 17.
