Volunteers always needed in the Rio Grande Valley

You can only fill up so much time with sightseeing and shopping during your stay in the Rio Grande Valley.

For those of you looking to give something back to the area you call home for half the year, there are many volunteer opportunities.

Hidalgo County’s five main hospital systems — South Texas Health System, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, Rio Grande Regional Hospital, Knapp Medical Center and Mission Regional Medical Center — are always looking for volunteers to help out at the front desk, escort patients to and from their rooms and man the gift shop.

South Texas Health System, which operates McAllen Medical Center, McAllen Heart Hospital, Edinburg Regional Medical Center and Edinburg Children’s Hospital, is always looking for extra help, said Joel Peña, director of volunteer services for the system.

“I’ve already started getting calls,” Peña said last month.

The hospital system has three four-hour volunteer shifts between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day, so volunteers can pick which time is most convenient for them, Peña said.

South Texas Health System has to have about 350 volunteers each week, and so far with the help of Winter Texans it has met its needs, he said.

Winter Texans looking to spend more time outdoors can donate their time at any of the nine birding centers in the Valley as well as at state parks and federal refuges.

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park has a variety of events and activities, both indoor and outdoor, for volunteers, said Jennifer Hall, the park’s assistant superintendent.

The park can use volunteers to guide visitors and help them look for the perfect gift at the gift shop, fix flat tires and bicycles or help tend the gardens, Hall said.

Volunteers are also needed for different programs the park hosts, she said.

“We have lots of fun stuff to do,” Hall said. “We try and create new stuff all the time.”

The park can accommodate anyone with special talents and skills who wants to put them to use in their volunteer work. Bentsen had an art program for two years that was run by a volunteer who has since moved to Florida, Hall said.

“We’d love to see how they can help the park,” she said.

Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.