The floors are in, the tent is up, the vaccine and supplies are stocked and the volunteers are ready for the annual 12-hour vaccination marathon known as Flulapalooza, set for Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Thirteen volunteer leaders have been named over the past year to fill vacant positions on three Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) advisory boards and councils.

James O’Neill, M.D., professor of Surgery and former chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has received an International Surgical Volunteerism Award from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for more than three decades of service as a surgeon and educator in medically underserved countries.

The Vanderbilt Sewing Club, which crafts special linens for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and its patients, recently received a top honor at Hands On Nashville’s 30th Annual Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards ceremony.

Thorun Olsen watched as two tiny, soft knitted hats — one pink and one blue — were placed on Nolan and Nora Mong’s petite heads to keep them warm in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Fran Hardcastle still recalls her first volunteer experience — selling papers on Palm Sunday to benefit the Junior League Home for Crippled Children.

The strong value placed on community volunteerism is among the reasons Nashville has received extensive national press for its enviable quality of life, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean recently told Vanderbilt Divinity students.