User:SOPHVI

Hospice Volunteer Initiative, also known as “HVI”, is a service project initiated by the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy Class of 2015 in collaboration with the student chapter of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and Hospice of Southern Illinois. The Hospice Volunteer Initiative is funded through a generous grant by the Meridian Society. HVI teams up with local hospices to provide assistance to patients and families within the community. The goal of HVI is to recruit and train motivated young individuals interested in helping terminally ill patients and their families and subsequently increasing the number of volunteer hours within this population.

HVI started in May 2012 with the acceptance of the Meridian Grant from the SIUe Meridian Society. The idea behind the grant was to "bridge hospice volunteerism and the millennial generation." However, the group was opened up to everyone who wishes to make an impact on someone's life and help out the communities and families of hospice patients. Over the summer of 2012, the organization's goals and objectives were met, which allowed for the training and certification of the first group of HVI volunteers. On November 14th, 2012, the first volunteers completed certification at the HVI Kick-Off Event held in the Morris University Center on the SIUe campus. Hospice Volunteer Initiative was selected by SIUe’s Kimmel Leadership Center for Outstanding Community Project of the Year (2012-2013). HVI was also recognized in an article entitled “SIUe hopes its hospice volunteer training becomes model for other universities” in the St. Louis Beacon.