Today our spotlight shines on Dinu Patel, who volunteers at Novant Health UVA Prince William Medical Center. A resident of Manassas since the 1970's, Dinu is a retired engineer who worked for IBM, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. He was inspired to volunteer by observing a former supervisor who volunteered while employed and continued volunteering long after retirement. Dinu joined RSVP in late 2011, and the rest is history.
Dinu assists the hospital's Volunteer Office with database entry, reports and statistics. He also provides transportation to and from a doctor's office for those in need.
Dinu's hobbies include reading, spiritual studies, meditations and volunteering at medical camps. One of Dinu's most memorable volunteer experiences happened when he went to Haiti to volunteer for 10 days following the earthquake in 2010. His duties there included assisting medical staff with administrative duties, escorting patients and helping in the soup kitchen. Dinu remarked that memories of volunteering there are still fresh in his mind.
Dinu feels the most rewarding part of volunteering for RSVP is "…helping fellow human beings without distinction of race, religion or anything else, and doing this without expecting any rewards or paybacks."
The former Manager of Volunteer Services at the hospital said this about Dinu: "[Dinu] has been dependable and committed to a volunteer position that is 100% 'behind the scenes'...He knows what needs to be done and does it - he is remarkable in our book!"
The staff of Volunteer Prince William is grateful for dedicated RSVP volunteers such as Dinu, and we thank him for his dedication and service!
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