March 30, 2017 | Volunteer
Becoming a part of a community and making a difference in someone’s life are two reasons people volunteer. For the past 35 years, Mountain Park has focused on making our communities healthy and inclusive. We are constantly launching new programs to better the overall wellbeing of our patients and employees. This past October, we started our Volunteer Program. Since then, 121 volunteers logged over 800 hours in and around our clinics.
The program launched at our inaugural Tempe 5k/10k and Kid’s Run on October 30. Dozens of volunteers helped us make sure the event ran smoothly and made for a fun-filled day for all of our participants.
Since then, our program has gained traction around the communities we serve.
Meet Toral
Toral, an Arizona State University student, is one of the volunteers that spends time at our clinics. She started volunteering with us because she loves working with children. As a future dentist, she found Mountain Park to be a perfect fit and was especially drawn toward our new integrated dental program.
“During my time at the clinic I read to kids, we color and I try to help them pass the time as they’re waiting,” Toral told us. “It’s fun being able to talk, interact and get to know them. I also like that I can further my dental career by volunteering here.”
What we Do
Currently, we have several opportunities for our community to get involved.
Reach out and Read: Volunteers spend time at one of our clinics and read to children in our pediatric departments. This is a great opportunity to build interpersonal skills and promote literacy in children.
One-day events: We are always looking for help running our one-day events such as our spring and fall 5k/10k, the Bike Rodeo as well as backpack and book drives.
Fun Cart Operator: This job makes sure our volunteers help our youngest patients have fun while they are in the waiting rooms. Volunteers draw, color, play simple card games and get the kids moving with our activity dice. We’ve found that this role also helps start a conversation with our patients about all of the resources offered at Mountain Park.
We also look for volunteers to help us with resource fairs, which often helps us grow our partnerships between WIC, pediatrics, and other departments and resources.
Mountain Park’s Volunteer Program is special because we don’t have a minimum hour requirement, meaning interested participants can give as little as an hour of their time. To date, every clinic volunteer has expressed that they enjoy their experience and believe in the Mountain Park mission. In addition, many of our returning volunteers have brought others to the organization.
Our clinics take pride in being a welcoming and inclusive space. Volunteers add to our culture by interacting and visiting with our patients. Thanks to the program we are able to spread the message and mission of Mountain Park to families, friends, classmates and the whole community.
Volunteer with Us
We’d love for you to get involved at Mountain Park. If you are interested in volunteering, would like to take a tour, or just want more information, email us at volunteer@mphc-az.org.
