Volunteering
Nursing is giving of oneself to enhance the lives of others. It is appropriate that we honor our colleagues not only during their career, but also at the end of life's journey.
The nurses who are members of the Honor Guard consider it both an honor and a privilege to participate in final services for their fellow nurses. Our presence gives meaningful recognition to the nurse who has passed and helps to ease the grief of their loved ones during their time of loss.
Honor Guard nurse volunteers personally understand the dedication, commitment and sacrifices required of nurses throughout their careers. We are humbled in gratitude to our fallen nurse colleagues and their families for all they have given. Our volunteers share the value that our colleagues deserve recognition of their service with dignity and respect, and we enjoy camaraderie in carrying out our collective mission.
Membership
Maryland Nurse Honor Guard volunteers are active or retired professional nurses who may reside anywhere in the state.
Our nurse volunteers do not pay dues, but provide their own uniforms, time and transportation.
We wear a traditional formal white nursing uniform with cap and cape similar to nurses during WW1. The uniform dignified nursing and symbolizes the establishment of professional nursing as we know it today.
We do not have a specified time commitment to be a volunteer but appreciate some flexibility to attend services as needed to meet our mission. Given the nature of death, we realize that we may be called at any time. We may be invited to two or more services at the same time. Attendance will depend on how many volunteers are available.
We are always looking for more volunteers to serve the 23 counties of Maryland. Our goal is to have enough volunteers across the state to share scheduling our time, and allowing volunteers to participate even if they have limited availability.
Volunteers can also support MDNHG through Fundraising, Advertising, Social Media, Phone calls, Coordination of services and much more.