Donna's story

Liberty Hospital volunteers go above and beyond to ensure we are a place of service. From door greeters to gift shop cashiers, our volunteers often are the first and last faces that patients see when they come to the hospital.

For 49 years, our volunteers have been instrumental in bringing help and comfort to all of our patients and their families. Currently, we have 70 volunteers who help bring the hospital to life. One of the 70 has been with Liberty Hospital for 34 years and is our longest-serving volunteer.

Donna Bogue joined Liberty Hospital as a volunteer in 1989. From her early years with the hospital to now, Bogue said that, for her, these 30 plus years have gone by fast.

"It's gone by very, very quickly. I didn't realize it had been that long, frankly, but I grew up in Liberty, and I have a long history with the hospital," Bogue said.

For Bogue, volunteering with Liberty Hospital was an easy decision when both of her parents, Ray and Augusta Armstrong, had been involved since the hospital’s early years.

"I attended the open house in 1975, when the board of directors was established, and my father was on the board for a number of years. Then my mother started volunteering here. She volunteered for more than 30 years until she was 98," Bogue said.

Bogue was an elementary school teacher when she first began volunteering.

"I taught school for 31 years in elementary positions at Manor Hill, Alexander Doniphan, and retired from Franklin. I was a reading specialist when the state adopted a program called Career Ladder, providing a stipend for teachers with the requirement that they take up a community service position," Bogue said.

Different teachers opted for Boy and Girl Scouts or other forms of community service, but for Bogue, Liberty Hospital was her first choice.

"I'll just go volunteer at the hospital. I could do that. Knowing that I'm doing service for the community, being helpful to people, and being out and able to work gives me the enjoyment of doing something other than being at home. I am happy to continue doing that, and I thoroughly enjoy meeting people," Bogue said.

She has held different volunteer positions since starting, from the front desk as a greeter to stocking inventory in the gift shop. Today Bogue spends one day a week at Liberty Hospital, helping out in any way she can.

Learn more about becoming a hospital volunteer at https://www.libertyhospital.org/careers/volunteers/.