Volunteer program PAVEs the way for brighter futures
Five of the six YNHH volunteers donned smiles upon successfully completing the 2018-2019 PAVE program.
Six volunteers from the PAVE (Partnership for Achievement through Vocational Experience) program were honored recently during the program’s annual completion ceremony.
PAVE is a partnership between Chapel Haven, a New Haven-based organization that provides services for adults with developmental and social disabilities, and the Volunteer Services department at YNHH. During the nine-month program, Chapel Haven clients are placed in volunteer positions in hospital departments. They participate in vocationally oriented classroom instruction and work side-by-side with hospital staff. Participants gain job skills and are positioned to move into paid employment upon program completion.
The six volunteers collectively dedicated 4,000 hours of service to the hospital in the following departments: YNHH Daycare Center - York Street Campus, Laboratory Medicine/Specimen Processing, Materials Services, Unit Materials/Stores, Operating Room Materials Management, and Pharmacy. At the ceremony, Lynelle Abel, system director, Volunteer Services, YNHHS, told participants, “Your contributions to these departments have directly impacted our patients and their families and our hospital staff. You are now a part of our family."
This ceremony concluded PAVE’s seventh year. More than 40 volunteers have completed the program.
