M., a Hope volunteer, submitted a record of his hours for a matching grant through the State Farm Companies Foundation Good Neighbors Matching Gift Program.
As a retired State Farm employee, his 77 hours of volunteering were credited with a $500 donation to Hope.
M. was originally recruited at a State Farm volunteer fair – where he ran into a hospice nurse who had cared for his first wife during her illness. Through this very personal connection, his passion for giving back became the start of a long career as a hospice volunteer.
Since 2009, M. has volunteered for Hope during his seasonal residence in southwest Florida, visiting individuals in our care at local facilities and the Hope Hospice House.
For those who are considering volunteering directly with individuals as he does, M. shared words of encouragement:
“In these controlled settings, you don’t really have anything to worry about. There is support for you everywhere you turn. And, you’ll find that very few people want to talk about their illness. They want to talk about their family members, where they’re from… it’s not difficult to do. Volunteering makes me feel good about myself.”
Many large companies like State Farm offer similar Volunteer Matching grants. For example:
- Aetna: $300 for every 20 hours
- ConocoPhillips: $500 for every 20 hours
- Dell: $150 for every 10 hours
- ExxonMobil: $500 for every 20 hours
- Microsoft: $25 per hour
- Outerwall (Coinstar/Redbox): $15 per hour
- RealNetworks: $15 per hour
- Time Warner and Subsidiaries: $500
- Verizon: $750 for every 50 hours
