Starting April 12, we celebrate National Volunteer Week, a week dedicated to recognizing the extraordinary work completed by volunteers within organizations and communities throughout the United States. Each of us can recall a memory where a volunteer has touched our lives.
This week, we honor all of our generous ASHT volunteers. These individuals may or may not know how their contribution have made a difference to their fellow members, to a professional colleague in the health professions community or to a patient with a hand injury, but they have served willingly and passionately. On behalf of the ASHT Board of Directors and the administrative staff at ASHT headquarters, I offer many thanks to these volunteers for their passionate service to ASHT.
Volunteers are essential to all nonprofits, and these individuals have chosen to dedicate their time to ASHT. Volunteer service contributes to the core products and services offered to the membership. Our volunteers could have chosen to just be a recipient of the member benefits, but passion for hand therapy provides them with the energy to create new learning opportunities and/or services to help ASHT members meet the demands of clinical practice. This includes resources for continuing education, evidence-based practice, scientific inquiry, practice management and reimbursement. As volunteers, these leaders serve to keep members informed on legislative and other practice issues that may impact the delivery of care to patients with hand and upper limb conditions.
Our volunteers receive no compensation other than personal satisfaction for having contributed to the greater good. Like me, I hope they have developed new friendships with other ASHT volunteers and have learned more about how the organization serves all members of the hand therapy community. As our volunteers take the time to reflect on their service to ASHT, we hope they realize their time and effort is greatly appreciated by the ASHT leadership, staff and members throughout the entire year - not just one week in April. Please know you have not only contributed to the history of ASHT, but to its future as well. With your continued service, ASHT will continue to thrive and grow.
If you are interested in volunteering with ASHT, please visit our Leadership Opportunities page or complete our We Want You! volunteer campaign survey.
With sincere appreciation,
Jane Fedorczyk, PT, PhD, CHT, ATC
2015 ASHT President
