For many families experiencing illness, volunteers can offer a friendly face or, for caregivers, an opportunity to get out of the house.

They are a vital part of health care, and Vidant Home Health and Hospice is looking for people to serve as volunteers in its coverage area across eastern North Carolina.

Volunteer coordinator Angelina Brittle said volunteer responsibilities can be divided into two categories: respite, watching a patient and allowing caregivers to run errands or attend events; and companionship, spending time with a patient to keep him or her company.

“Helping them continue to care for their loved one, but also allow themselves a moment of self care,” Brittle explained. “We’re looking for somebody special to meet that need.”

For those who prefer to work in an office setting, there are opportunities for volunteer work at Vidant Home Health office locations, as well.

Brittle recalled one of her favorite memories of serving as a volunteer. She went to care for a man in Martin County while his wife attended their grandchild’s volleyball game. While there, Brittle said she and her patient watched a western movie together and discussed it; he also told her about his illness.

According to Brittle, when the wife returned, she was excited to tell her husband about the volleyball game.

“The wife was so excited for this time that she had,” Brittle said. “For me, I got to see this level of intimacy between them that I feel like the illness had robbed from them.”

That’s the kind of difference a home health volunteer can make. Brittle said she is looking for at least 10 volunteers in each county.

In Beaufort County, so far, there is one full-time volunteer with Vidant Home Health, and Brittle said she is training two new ones.

She said she would like to recruit more male volunteers — as there are none right now — although any volunteer would be welcome.

Vidant is currently recruiting volunteers in the following counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Chowan, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Hertford, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Pender, Pitt, Sampson, Washington, Wayne and Wilson.

For more information, or if interested in volunteering, contact Angelina Brittle at 252-847-1236 or email Angelina.brittle@vidanthealth.com.