One of our ambassadors, Joël Godin, single-handedly sold 200 tickets (out of a total of 1,000 tickets available) for the employees’ travel lottery. What an accomplishment! Joël is on our team of 21 sales ambassadors who have been making this lottery a success for 10 years.
Joël, a patient attendant, has been working at Montreal’s Sacré-Cœur Hospital for 15 years. Before becoming an attendant he worked in maintenance for nine years. “During my years working in maintenance I missed the patient contact, which was what motivated me to always do my best,” said Joël in an interview just before starting his 4 PM shift.
Joël Godin is highly enthusiastic when talking about his role at Sacré-Cœur, and in particular about working in the Emergency department. “I receive patients who are injured, upset and vulnerable, who need some reassurance.” The attendant also appreciates the team at Sacré-Cœur, one he considers devoted and engaged. “Our surroundings are not always ideal, and the construction work going on above the Emergency department doesn’t make it any easier. Still, we always manage. I think we are pretty good,” he added.
Joël Godin could easily tell himself—as most of us do after a long day’s work—that he’s done enough, but he thinks it’s important to support the Foundation. What does that accomplish? Well, if one day you should get sick, the Foundation will be there for you, and you will benefit. And when he sees the new equipment and areas of the hospital that have been upgraded thanks to the Foundation, he is very proud of having convinced people to give. Joël knows how important it is to support hospitals, because he was frequently at Saint-Justine Hospital when he was a youngster, due to a malformation. He understands the role of our Foundation because sought out support from the Foundation for help with a Christmas concert that he organized from 2005 to 2007. His volunteer work started in summer with Christmas carol rehearsals. To him, all those hours of volunteer work were repaid in full by the smiles from hospitalized patients during the holidays.
“It doesn’t matter how much you give,” is Joël’s message. “Imagine if 4,000 employees all contributed?” So, when it’s time to roam the corridors and to encounter his colleagues to talk to them about the Travel lottery, he feels he’s on a mission. “There’s nothing simpler–or more important–than to give.”