Tidelands Hospice News
Volunteer Paperboy
June 2, 2008
When Bill Hanley retired he planned to fish. After all, fishing was his favorite relaxation and escape when working as a VP for Travelers Insurance. He had the perfect fishing camp in Rhode Island, a great boat and lots of time. In the course of time, Bill discovered that he just couldn’t fish 24/7.
In addition, he was beginning to feel like a “latch key kid” because his wife was always off doing things with groups and friends throughout the community. His doctor recommended becoming a volunteer — a hospice volunteer. Bill realized that “we all have to be needed by somebody for something.”
For almost 18 years, Bill has volunteered for hospice organizations in his native Rhode Island, Florida, and South Carolina. It is not as common for a man to be a hospice volunteer, which makes him all the more in demand.
One of his favorite stories is where the title of the article comes from. It seems there was a gentleman from the Charlotte area who lived in the same neighborhood as Bill. When he had to enlist hospice care, he told the volunteer coordinator he only wanted someone to deliver his newspaper – The Charlotte Observer. And have it delivered early in the morning because after all, “it is a morning paper.” Bill agreed to be the “paper boy” for this dying man. They arranged a system that if the door was locked, Bill should ring the bell, leave the paper and go home. However, if the door was unlocked he was welcome to come in and chat a bit. They talked about fishing and golf. Bill recalls that these conversations were really about hope. Bill goes on to say, “People need hope. They need to know anything’s possible. And I can give them that.”
For information on how you can join Bill in volunteering with Tidelands, contact Ellna Silver, Volunteer Coordinator at 843-546-3410.