Volunteer Spotlight

Sue Smigel - Outstanding Volunteer

Sue Smigel was honored as "Outstanding Volunteer 2003" at the National Philanthropy Day gala breakfast, sponsored by the greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Sue has been a volunteer at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for over 50 years, and logged more than 25,000 hours, the equivalent of over 12 years of full-time work!

She began volunteering at Childrens Hospital to "ease her mind" when her son Lance was hospitalized.  Not surprisingly, Sue is now the longest-serving volunteer, a donor, and is a member of the hospital’s Board of Trustees.

Working at Childrens Hospital helped Sue put her family’s condition into perspective.  "I was so absorbed with my children’s problems, but this opened me up to more," Sue said.  "As bad as my kids’ situation was, there were so many who had it much worse.  I couldn’t resign myself to pity."  Lance and her younger son Scott, also a former patient, are both now in their 50's.

Sue has had many assignments during the past 50 years, from powdering and diapering newborns, to running the hospital’s toy department for two decades, to being a trusted confidante, and sometimes just being a sounding board for countless patients and their families and caregivers.

We salute Sue for her loyalty and timeless concern for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.