Celebrating MGH Volunteers: The Heart of Traditions in Excellence and Caring

Since 1869, volunteers have been at the heart of Mass General’s traditions of excellence and caring. Between helping patients and families navigate the hospital campus, delivering books and magazines to patient rooms and offering snacks and blankets to those undergoing treatment in the Cancer Center, they provide thousands of hours of service each year and an invaluable amount of support to the MGH community.

Despite challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MGH Volunteer Department's 600 volunteers have logged more than 25,000 hours since Oct. 1, 2021.

Throughout the week of April 18, the department hosted a series of events to celebrate another successful year of service, including an awards ceremony and lunch, a Zoom education session with Michael Jernigan, MD, of the Department of Medicine, daily raffles and a pet therapy session on the Bulfinch Lawn.


“We weren’t able to appropriately thank our volunteers for their work during the pandemic,” says Jackie Nolan, director of Volunteer Services. “This year, as we slowly get back to ‘normal,’ we can do so. I am especially grateful to those who continued to volunteer during the height of the pandemic. We are forever thankful for their courage and commitment.”