Espresso that benefits everyone

Services at Valley Hospital are getting better and better with every cup of joe consumed there.

Valley Gift and Coffee Cache is located right in the lobby of Valley Hospital. It's not exactly like the other coffee shops in town, either. Yes, they serve a good cup of coffee, but the baristas aren't getting paid to do it. Valley Gift and Coffee Cache is run entirely by volunteers, and all of the proceeds go right back into the hospital.

This year, the money raised goes to the pediatric and geriatric services of the hospital, and the Valley Hospital Foundation's endowment fund. In 2001, the proceeds were donated to Hospice of Mat-Su, raising more than $17,000 for the organization.

"We have 15 volunteers in the espresso and gift shop, and 51 in the entire hospital program," said Cathy Smith, volunteer services manager at Valley Hospital. "The espresso and gift shop is the social hub of the hospital, and the staff is really grateful and appreciative of the work the volunteers do here."

Smith said many of her volunteers are teen-agers who are at the top of their class. They need community service for things such as the National Honor Society, and the community service looks good on their college resumes. Smith understands, and said working in the coffee and gift shop is a perfect way to fulfill those needs.

"We often get the best and the brightest students because they want to make a difference," Smith said.

Some other volunteers, like Sherie Vieira, are there for other reasons. Vieira's husband is in the military, and is planning to retire soon. She is volunteering to get a pulse for the community, because she and her husband plan to settle in the Valley.

"People are amazed that we are being here as volunteers and not getting paid. I think we develop good relationships with the staff at the hospital, because they appreciate what we are doing," Vieira said. "I started out volunteering in the front lobby, and then I took this position. It's amazing how much fun you can have volunteering here."

Providing a positive atmosphere for the volunteers is the most important part of Smith's job, she said.

"I'm getting paid monetarily, but they are getting paid in appreciation," Smith said. "I love working with volunteers because they are here because they want to be. It is up to me to make them want to come back and stay here."

It must be working. In 2000, there were 5,710 hours of volunteer work done by the "employees" of Valley Gift and Coffee Cache. In 2001, that number jumped to 8,162 volunteer hours. The coffee shop has only been open since 2000, because it was part of the hospital's renovation plan that year.

Because the shop is run completely by volunteers, the hours vary a bit. The shop is open every day from 8 a.m. to noon, and often there are orders waiting for the first worker to arrive.

Depending on volunteer availability, the shop is open during the afternoon and evening as well. Smith said she would like to be able to keep the shop open as long as possible every day, to help serve as many people as possible.

The staff at Valley Hospital makes up most of the customer base for the shop, with hospital visitors and patients' families making up the rest.

"The staff knows that it is all volunteers working. The staff has been wonderful. They all have high-stress jobs, and when they come to the espresso and gift shop, they can take their minds off work," Smith said. "It's becoming a social hub of the hospital. We try to make it neat little haven for them there."

Smith said she appreciates the business of the Valley Hospital staff, because they often pass several espresso stands on their way to work, waiting until they can buy their coffee from Valley Gift and Coffee Cache.

"I've had staff members call to make sure we are open, so they don't buy their coffee somewhere else," Smith said with a laugh. "We even have people coming in from the community who have no business at the hospital. They just like the coffee."

That's the secret to the success, Smith said. Her volunteers strive for quality, not quantity, and that has people coming back, cup after cup.

"We have our own special blend that we get from The Coffee Roastery in Palmer, and nobody else has that blend," Vieira said. "It is really good coffee."

The volunteers working the gift shop and espresso window also chip in with other aspects of the hospital.

"We do a lot of things, like helping with tours and the fun run in Palmer every year," Vieira said. "I have watched the kids of a lady whose husband was in a car accident and was in the emergency room, and played cribbage with some of the patients.

"We try to give extra support to people who really need it when they are at the hospital," Vieira said.

Those kinds of comments are exactly why Smith feels like she has the perfect job.

"There is a certain responsibility volunteers have because they want to pick up the slack all the time," Smith said. "It is a joy to work with such a wonderful team of people who really care."

Smith said many volunteers want to work directly with paients, but by making the coffee shop and gift shop a fun place to work, she is being able to recruit more and more people.

"If it's fun, people will come back," Smith said.