{"id":8364,"date":"2024-02-10T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-10T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8364"},"modified":"2024-02-10T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T21:30:00","slug":"army-veteran-has-volunteered-at-va-for-15-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8364","title":{"rendered":"Army Veteran has volunteered at VA for 15 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-02-10T21:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Bay Pines VA<\/a> needs volunteers to fill many rolls across our health care system. No one understands the importance of this role better than Center for Development and Civic Engagement specialist Edgardo Solivan.<\/p>\n

Solivan started his VA journey in the Technical Career Field Trainee Program<\/a>. The program is a two-year internship that places individuals in critically identified positions throughout VA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been doing this since 2008. It\u2019s been a rewarding experience,\u201d Solivan said. \u201cAfter my two years of training, I stayed here at Bay Pines VA in Voluntary Service.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As one of the members in the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE), formerly known as Voluntary Service, Solivan is responsible for facilitating many of the behind-the-scenes activities that contribute to Veterans having a positive experience while at Bay Pines VA.<\/p>\n

Over 700 volunteers at Bay Pines VA<\/h2>\n

\u201cCDCE is responsible for many things. We train new volunteers. We conduct volunteer outreach and we manage the receipt of donations from our generous community partners,\u201d said Solivan (in the center in the picture above) who stressed that without our volunteers, often overlooked elements of a Veteran\u2019s health care experience would not be easily fulfilled. In FY23, Bay Pines VA was privileged to have more than 700 volunteers provide support. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have volunteers who drive the golf carts that pick up Veterans and carry them from the parking lots to their destinations. We have volunteers at the help desk in the hospital, the Community Living Center, Hospice and many more places. We also have them helping with receiving and distributing donations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Gratifying to the volunteer as well as the Veterans<\/h2>\n

The volunteers come from all areas of the community and represent a variety of professions, physical abilities, age groups, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had all types of people ranging from CEOs to retired Veterans come through here to donate their time. Each one has their own reason why they want to volunteer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Some of the benefits associated with volunteer work include improved health, letters of recommendation, training opportunities and eligibility for scholarships offered by service organizations and VA.<\/p>\n

\u201cVolunteering is a healthy way of giving back to the Veterans who gave so much to us. It\u2019s very gratifying to the volunteer as well as the patients, families, visitors and caregivers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volunteers are responsible for many behind-the-scenes activities that contribute to Veterans’ positive experience at VA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-veteran-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nArmy Veteran has volunteered at VA for 15 years - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Volunteers are responsible for many behind-the-scenes activities that contribute to Veterans' positive experience at VA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8364\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army Veteran has volunteered at VA for 15 years - 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