Ellen & Alysia Haman
Mother-daughter duo take volunteering seriously
Ellen Haman thought for a second when asked about her livelihood.
She wasn’t quite sure how to describe how she spends her time. She mentioned being a homemaker and her daughter Alysia’s personal assistant. But actually, what Ellen and Alysia do most — and perhaps best — is volunteer their time.
They volunteer at Miracles in Motion, a horseback riding program in Swisher for people with disabilities. They volunteer as readers at Oxford Elementary School. They volunteer at the patient library and visitor center at University Hospitals.
“We’re professional volunteers, I guess,” Ellen said.
Ellen and Alysia have done most of their volunteer work at the hospital. They deliver movies, games and VCRs wherever someone is in need of entertainment. They check out books. They answer questions and answer the phone in the library.
A few years back, someone left the department, someone got sick and someone was gone on maternity leave. Next thing Ellen and Alysia knew, they were volunteering full time every day that summer.
Although they aren’t around the hospital quite as much these days, Ellen and Alysia have donated more than 1,500 hours of their time.
And that’s not even counting all the books they’ve read for elementary children or all the horses they’ve ridden or walked beside.
“It’s a lot, but it’s really fun,” Ellen said. “We get a lot out of it, too. We have friends we wouldn’t have met otherwise if we weren’t up there.”
The inspiration for it all comes from a time a couple decades ago when Alysia was hospitalized and volunteers brought pictures to put on the walls and books to pass the time.
“I thought that was a nice thing,” Ellen said. “We just remembered people doing nice things for us, and we like doing nice things to pay back, and I know what it’s like being in the hospital, whether you’re a patient or a family member. I really like to break that up for people now. But it’s a lot of fun, and you meet all kinds of really interesting people.”
— Andy Hamilton
