Orem woman works nearly 20k hours for free


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OREM — A hospital is place where minutes can feel like hours. Sarah Sparks knows that, and will do almost anything to make that time a little more pleasant.

At 79 years old, most people her age are retired. But for Sparks, the lab at Orem Community Hospital is like her second home.

"She works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and sometimes she comes in on her day off," said clinical lab coordinator Evlyne Kofford, who spends more than her share of time with Sparks.

That's three days a week, 10 hours a day. If you've needed blood drawn here, chances are you've met Sparks — she's been a fixture around the hospital for 21 years. Sparks does everything from organizing and stocking supplies to holding and comforting frightened children.

Spending time in the lab helped her heal when her husband passed away nine years ago.

"It wasn't easy," said Sparks. "We'd been married 49 years."

But at the hospital, she's found family.

"She's everybody's best friend," said Kofford. "And especially mine."

"Well I like them," Sparks said. "I don't know if they like me, but I like them."

Sparks says she couldn't imagine doing anything else.

"If you don't like something, you're not going to do it for 21 years," she said. "And not get paid."

That's right, Sparks isn't an employee — she's basically a 79-year-old full-time volunteer, which causes some to ask if that's a little excessive.

(Photo: Ray Boone/KSL-TV)
(Photo: Ray Boone/KSL-TV)

"Not to me," Sparks said. "To somebody else, probably. But not to me."

Sparks says when you get old, you need to keep busy, and she's not about to find a hobby.

"My husband also collected golf balls," she said. "I hate to tell you this, but when he died he had 66,000 golf balls. He had a storage shed."

Instead of golf balls, Sparks collects time — time in the form of volunteer hours.

She's about to hit an unbelievable 20,000 hours.

"I was thinking it was more than that," Kofford said. "It's amazing. She's an amazing woman."

"What would I be doing?" asked Sparks. "I could read all day. This gets me out, I get to meet people. I firmly believe that volunteering keeps you young."

In a place where minutes can feel like hours, Sparks is here, working for free — hoping to make that time pass a little more quickly.

"People go out of here smiling," she said. "They can come in, 'Ohh, what a day,' but when they leave, they smile."

(Photo: Ray Boone/KSL-TV)
(Photo: Ray Boone/KSL-TV)

Contributing: Ashley Kewish

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