Jordyn Giorgi was nervous about her second birth. Three years ago, when the 32-year-old Jefferson County mom delivered her daughter Anistyn, she labored for 30 hours. “It was a pretty grueling labor,” Jordyn says, and in the end, she needed a C-section because her labor failed to progress.

Jason Broomfield, 61, a St. Louis Metro Link security guard, had always been nervous about hospitals and needles. But when Jason began experiencing difficulty breathing and unbearable stomach pain, he was left with no choice. He headed to the Christian Hospital Emergency Department to get answers.

When a progressive eye disorder called keratoconus sent Lori Bell on a gradual path toward becoming legally blind, she and her husband, Don, made a pledge.

It’s an inclusive, low-pressure kind of thing. It’s a good vibes kind of thing. The people you work with are nice and friendly. It’s fun. I love what I do. You’re a volunteer, but you want to go, because you don’t want to let anyone down. It’s just fun.

Any kind of volunteering makes you feel good, because you are helping somebody out. It’s a lot different than handing money over, to spend your hours doing something.