Most people probably can't imagine giving away 29,000 hours of their free time, but for 91-year-old Arlene Miller it's a mission. The young at heart 90-plus volunteer at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center who gives up her own time to volunteer at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center in Roslyn, has played an important role in the Hospital for some three decades.

As a The longtime member of 'The Guild of St. Francis Hospital,' the Hospital's fundraising auxiliary, she has taken care of all of the Guild's accounting and books for almost 30 years - all of her work she does is by hand, no less. To date, Arlene has put in the equivalent of more than 3,600 workdays by volunteering more than 29,000 volunteer hours, the largest total ever accrued in the history of St. Francis Hospital.

Arlene Miller is just one of a hundred St. Francis Hospital volunteers who were honored at a volunteer luncheon on Friday, May 16 at the Woodbury Country Club. The volunteers were chosen based on either the number of volunteer hours they put in or the longevity of time. Several recipients will be recognized for donating between 10 and 40 years of their time to the hospital.

St. Francis has a number of areas within the hospital where people can volunteer including the information desk, the surgical waiting room, the gift shop, patient relations, dietary and hospital transportation. According to Barry Baretela, director of Volunteer Services, St. Francis Hospital has approximately 350 volunteers. He said, "Over the last year, our volunteers have put in over 64,000 hours at the hospital, saving St. Francis 1.1 million dollars in that one year alone."

The minimum age of volunteers at St. Francis Hospital is 14, but the average is 70 years old. "We are finding more and more baby boomers coming out of the workforce, becoming St. Francis volunteers. They are of retirement age, but they don't really want to retire," he said. And for some volunteers, nothing will stop them - even loss of sight, as in the case of 83-year-old Gloria Pitt of Port Washington. Despite being afflicted with macular degeneration, she volunteers three days every week at St. Francis. Because of her vision problem, she had to give up her car and must take a cab to and from the hospital. With more than 10,000 hours under her belt, Gloria spends her time in the endoscopy and same-day surgery units, talking to patients and lifting their spirits.