Donzelle Crowder Research Belton Hospital/VA Hospital
Each weekday morning, Donzelle Crowder, Sr., wakes up at 4:20 a.m., drives out to Research Belton Hospital where he acts as lead housekeeper and works from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then, he drives 45 minutes from Belton to Kansas City, where he works at the VA Hospital from 3 pm to midnight. To spare you the math—that's 80 hours a week. And Crowder has held both full-time jobs for close to four years now.
In addition to keeping the floors clean at two major hospitals, Crowder also acts as a deacon at the Greater Pentecostal Church of Kansas City, Kansas. He conducts a prison ministry program that goes to different area prisons every fifth Sunday to talk with and listen to prisoners. “They like having someone to listen to them,” Crowder says.
On top of Crowder’s busy schedule, he helps his wife, Alfreda, raise four young teenagers at home. “You have to try to stay ahead of them,” he says. “When they raise the level, you raise the bar.” The philosophy Crowder shares with his kids can also be directly related to his own work. “Failure’s not an option. What I tell my kids: Life is like a grade card—what you do is what you get. If you don’t do anything, you don't receive anything.”
Ethyline Haynes Children’s Mercy Hospital
“You are in the workable line, and I will work with you,” Head Cashier Ethyline Haynes tells the occasional unhappy customer that comes through her line in the Children's Mercy Hospital cafeteria.
Whether it’s a hug or simply a kind word, Haynes often succeeds at getting at least a smile from some of her tougher cases. “I’m a happy-go-lucky person,” she says, “I most interact with customers on a one-on-one basis.” This is not an easy task, considering the majority of Haynes’ customers are sick children or distressed parents of patients. “I get all my inspiration from work,” Haynes says.
This inspiration and her devotion to Children’s Mercy are understandable. In May 1986, her seven-week-old son, Ron, was severely burned and rushed to Children’s Mercy. He was not expected to survive past 48 hours. After 21 surgeries, Ron, 18 years old now, is a freshman in college with plans of becoming a burn doctor.
Aside from working in the cafeteria, Haynes has worked at the hospital in the past as a diet clerk and currently volunteers with the uniform committee and helps with bulletin board displays. But, her real passion lies in her daily interactions with customers. Haynes was chosen Employee of the Month in March 2003, but she says her greatest reward is “just being able to wake up in the morning and come to Children's Mercy and make someone happy.”
Mamie Wilkerson Research Medical Center
Mamie Wilkerson’s decision to become a licensed foster care provider sounds simple: “I was looking at that (foster care) on TV one day, and I knew I had the space—so I checked into it and liked it.”
Twenty years later, she has provided shelter and care for 20 children. She even adopted one boy, now 13, whom she took in at age five.
Wilkerson has worked at Research Medical Center since 1989 as a patient care technician. She takes care of almost all of her patients' daily needs outside of providing medication. This includes taking blood pressure and simply talking with patients and keeping them company.
Wilkerson is also active with the Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church. As vice president of the Delightfuls, a senior citizen group, she helps coordinate visits to nursing homes and outings to places like the Lake of the Ozarks and Eureka Springs. On Sundays, Wilkerson helps transport people from City Union Mission to the church for a hot meal. Wilkerson’s volunteer work also reflects her love of children. For three years, she has taken kids from the Kansas City Boys and Girls Club on annual fishing trips to Smithville Lake and Lake Jacoma.
Wilkerson admits it can be challenging “trying to get these kids turned around from some of the bad behavior they have.” But, she adds, it has its rewards, especially, “When you have a kid and you see the improvement. The work you put into it has not been wasted.”