Hebrew Rehabilitation Center Celebrates Volunteer Yuri Garcia

Yuri Garcia has over 540 volunteer hours between Hebrew Rehabilitation Center - Boston and Hebrew SeniorLife’s hospice program. In that time, she has supported staff and patients in numerous ways, developed strong bonds with patients, and gained invaluable life advice.

After graduating from UMass Amherst in 2020, Yuri began working as a medical assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. It was there that one of her patients mentioned working at Hebrew SeniorLife. Having always loved giving back to her community, Yuri asked if they were accepting volunteers, and, in no time, she began making visits to Spanish-speaking patients at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. She eventually expanded to other floors, helped out with events, began visiting hospice patients, and even got certified as a “meal mate” by a volunteer coordinator.

Yuri and her mother immigrated to the U.S. from Peru in 2003. Unfortunately, by the time they could go back to visit, her grandparents had all passed. She feels like any way she can help patients is like helping her own family. She also enjoys sharing her family’s immigration story and hearing about the unique immigration journeys and backgrounds of the patients she works with.

Today, Yuri works as a clinical assistant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She’s currently in the arduous process of applying for medical school and preparing for her Medical College Admission Test. Whenever she needs some support, she can always lean on the patients she’s spent all those hours with. “They always have so much great advice. They tell me, ‘You don’t want to get old and wonder what you could have done.’ They always encourage me to keep going.”

We thank you, Yuri, for your dedication to volunteering and for sharing your story!

Interested in beginning your own volunteer story? Learn more about how to get started: https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org/volunteer