ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Since the recent illness and death of his mother, longtime KMOX host Dave Glover has been helping people in hospice care.
When he is not on the KMOX airwaves hosting 'The Dave Glover Show', Glover volunteers his time to No One Dies Alone (NODA), an organization that arranges for volunteers to sit with people in hospice, during their last hours of life.
"There are other NODAs across the country, but not that many," said Glover on 'Total Information A.M.' Tuesday. "We have about 40 volunteers, but when my package with Mike Bush at KSDK aired, we immediately got about 30 more."
Glover says when he first heard of NODA in the days leading up his mom's death, his mind was blown and he didn't 'understand a word they were saying.'
"Strangers are going to come in at 4 a.m. in the morning sit with my mom, whom they have never met?" said Glover. "That was crazy. I couldn't imagine people doing that."
Glover says a volunteer at NODA was with his mom when she passed, and that meant the world to him.
"(The volunteer) gave me a whole page on how it happened and it was very peaceful. It meant everything to me," said Glover.
Glover says when he first volunteered, he met a man named Ray, who loved the Beatles and Colorado.
"This was very much not in my wheelhouse, I'm a good caretaker, but I'm weirded out by death and dying," said Glover. "I didn't know if I would literally be able to do it."
Eventually, after sitting with Ray for two hours, Glover realized the impact and honor of being able to be a part of Ray's last hours on earth.
"I said the next day to my friends and family 'there's everything I've ever done in my life, which is a lot, and then there's this,'" said Glover. "This was much more so impactful and meaningful being given the honor of spending two hours of the last 24 hours this guy had. That's huge."
Glover says when he is a volunteer with NODA, and sitting next to a patient in hospice, he's completely focused.
"It's the only time in my life when I'm completely focused," said Glover. "Even on the show, I'm still looking on my phone, thinking about dinner, etc."
"When someone is dying and you know that they have hours left, it's such an honor and a privilege to have a couple of those hours and you know it's so important."
Glover says being a volunteer with NODA is his way of 'paying it forward and honoring his mom'
If you are interested in being a volunteer for NODA, you can click here to learn more.