Alice is ‘always on the move’

If it’s Friday, you’ll find Alice Friesen volunteering her time at Sonoma Valley Hospital, just as she’s done every Friday for the last 34 years.

She’s given more than 12,000 hours of her life helping out at the hospital, and she’s seen more changes in that time than she can remember.

Alice sips her Red Rose tea and reminisces about the myriad tasks she’s accomplished, from escorting patients in and out in wheelchairs to bringing coffee to anxious people waiting for loved ones undergoing surgery. She’s set up filing systems and processed payrolls and helped at fundraisers selling See’s candy in the lobby.

Besides volunteering on site, she’s currently serving as treasurer of the Sonoma Valley Hospital Auxiliary, a position she’s held four times.

“I’m good with numbers,” she explains, saying that her favorite hospital memory is when she was the auxiliary president in 2006, the year of the auxiliary’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Neither her knee surgery nor an ankle replacement has kept her from her commitment. “There are lots of things the hospital needs that are done behind the scenes,” she said. “I don’t have to be doing something where I’m seen. I’m happy to work behind the scenes.”

Alice and her late husband moved here from Chico in 1980, when her husband became the minister at the Sonoma United Methodist Church. As soon as she arrived, she set her sights on how to help out, and she’s never stopped.

An avid quilter, she makes a dozen baby quilts a year for FISH, which are donated to newborns in families facing financial challenges.

She’s also still volunteering in the library at Prestwood Elementary School, where she has a special talent for repairing books with broken bindings or torn pages. “Some kids are hard on them,” she said, and her work keeps precious books in circulation longer.

A room in her home is dedicated to her quilting projects, where there is a wall full of blue ribbons that her quilts have won at state and county fairs.

She especially likes cat-themed quilts, having amassed a collection of cat fabrics, and she even made a quilt with a perfect likeness to her own cherished cat, Kashi.

Her two adult children and her grandsons, Trevor and Cameron, have all had quilts made especially for them, using fabrics depicting things they love. Alice has five Personal Quilt Registry books completely filled with photos and details of all the quilts she’s completed.

Even with her other interests, Fridays have always been reserved for the hospital. “It’s been a very satisfying experience working at the hospital in all these different capacities,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed it. And I believe you have to give back to other people where it’s needed.”

And the hospital is very satisfied with Alice. “I work with her every Friday and she has a wealth of knowledge about the hospital and the auxiliary,” said Colleen Wilson, human resources recruiter. “She is a delight to be around and she’s always on the move.”

Alice is only spending two hours on Fridays now – less than in the old days – but with a dedication as strong as ever.

“I will do it until I can’t do it anymore,” she said. “It’s my Friday work, and life is for working and helping others. You have to give back to the community.”