Published: Jan. 13, 2015
The Sparrow Woman’s Board of Managers and Sparrow Volunteer Services Department have named Mary Mendoza as the January Volunteer of the Month.
Mendoza began volunteering at Sparrow after experiencing the excellent care Sparrow Caregivers and volunteers gave her as a Patient. She has been a fixture in the Sparrow Gift Shop for more than 12 years and is also now part of the QuickBooks data entry team.
Born and raised in Muskegon, she came to mid-Michigan after high school to study mathematics at Michigan State University. She met her husband Ed there. The couple has a son, Jesse.
Mendoza worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 36 years. Since retiring three years ago, she has also been a regular and a substitute volunteer in the Radiation Oncology Lounge. More recently, she has been helping in the Volunteer Services Department with clerical duties which free up time for Caregivers to help other volunteers.
Mendoza is said to be kind, pleasant to work with and knowledgeable. Along with spending several days a month at Sparrow, she has been an active participant in her church choir for 19 years. Mendoza likes spending time with her family, travelling and working on genealogy. She enjoys nature trails with her husband, lighthouses and time spent in her hometown of Muskegon.
As many Sparrow volunteers say, she enjoys being a part of the community and feels she always gets back much more than she gives.