Volunteer Spotlight: Katharine, HARP

Katharine is a celebrated Hospital Accompaniment Response Program (HARP) volunteer who has been with us since September 2015. Recently inducted into our “250-Shift Club,” Katharine has dedicated over 2,800 hours to Doorways. She brings a genuine, warm, and soothing welcome to everyone she meets at Doorways, staff and clients alike.

Favorite HARP Memory

For Katharine, “an extra-rewarding HARP accompaniment was a call in the wee hours of Thanksgiving one year. I know I made a difference for the survivor and her mother that night. I then went home for 3 hours of sleep, and hosted my family for
Thanksgiving dinner without missing a beat!”

Learning About Doorways

Katharine was browsing on VolunteerMatch when she came across Doorways’ relatively new hospital accompaniment program. Katharine says, “I felt this program, requiring a calm and reassuring presence for the survivor amidst the traumatic hospital environment, would be a good fit for my personality and my legal-advocate skill-set.”

Volunteering 8 Years and Counting

What keeps Katharine coming back? She derives great satisfaction from supporting
survivors as they start their healing journey. In addition, “as a Doorways volunteer for over 8 years, I have ALWAYS felt the love and appreciation for my service. That never gets old, and I thrive on it,” shares Katharine.

Outside of Doorways

Katharine doesn’t just donate her time to important causes; in 2016, she donated a
kidney to a stranger. Having now met her recipient, a woman thriving in California,
Katharine enjoys mentoring living kidney donor candidates. In her free time, you can find her enjoying movies from the “Film Noir” genre, doing crossword puzzles, relaxing on the porch in the summer, and planning her bucket list trip to the Champagne region of France.