Hospice voluntary service as an educational environment

Abstract

Hospice volunteering is s special kind of voluntary service. According to research, an average age of hospice volunteers is higher that an average age of volunteers in other types of voluntary services (Przewłocka, 2011; Seredyńska, 2018). However, it does not mean that there are no young persons in hospices, especially when one remembers that contact with the sick and dying allows people to realize the most important things in life and to gain a more realistic view of their limitations. So, it can be said that the environment of hospice voluntary service offers valuable upbringing and educational opportunities. The paper is based on the analysis of subject literature and address several upbringing and educational aspects connected with the environment of hospice voluntary service. These aspects include the analysis of hospice volunteering which educates for accepting: the central position of God in human life, death as an integral part of life, weaknesses and limitations in the maturing process, and the attitude of ‘imagination of mercy’ towards the sick and dying. Other educational and upbringing environments do not confront a person with these aspects of life to such an extent.

Keywords

• hospice voluntary service
• educational environment
• volunteer