TGH volunteer clocks almost 60 years of service

TAMPA (FOX 13) - For 59 years, Del Clarke has dedicated her time, talents, and winning personality to the employees and patients at Tampa General Hospital.

Del was born at TGH in 1928. Today, she's 89-years-old and she told FOX 13 News what drove her to make service in the Bay Area her life's work.

Del volunteers as a receptionist at TGH. She is the first person with whom many people in crisis come into contact.

"It gives you a great feeling. Really, it does," Del said. "You feel like perhaps you have helped a little."

Del got the volunteering bug as a teen during World War II.

"They allowed me to take an 80-hour course to be a Red Cross Nurse's Aide and I was only 16," Del recalled.

Today, she has completed more than 10,000 volunteer hours at the hospital.

"So many people come through the hospital, all walks of life, all different, all the same," Del said.

Through hard work, Del has set a standard of excellent that will be hard to match," explained TGH's volunteer coordinator, Angelique McCormick.  "I wish we had more volunteers like Del that work so dedicated, so caring, and just really invested in trying to make a difference in the lives of others."

Del doesn't know when she is going to stop, but she has a message for anyone who wants to help the community.

"If you don't work every day, you want to do something. You want to be busy and make it count," Del advised.

Her's is a living legacy of compassion and love from which we can all benefit.