The Circle of Life

As you all may or may not know I have been volunteering at Sunrise Retirement Home. I have been assisting the employees in providing a routine schedule full of activities for the elderly who reside in the home. Working around my "banker hours" schedule, I have spent just shy of 15 hours over the last month. What a great experience it has been.

Most of my time has been spent assisting the elderly in their structured activites. Bingo is a favored game for the ladies. I assist the elderly with poor eye sight in marking their numbers helping them working towards winning the nickle pot. A variety of art and craft projects are provided daily for the residents. I took part in setting up for the activities as well as providing conversation for the ladies while they took part in the projects. I loved seeing their faces light up as they remembered me from the previous visits. I also helped with clipping coupons for the elderly to sort into bins for them to use on their purchases. Those were just a few ways I interacted with the residents at Sunrise Retirement Center.

An elderly person is bound just like a new born baby. Unable to communicate because of a stroke can leave an elderly frustrated. An elderly will have to find other ways to communicate what their needs are as does a baby who has not learned how to talk. Hands stuck in a tight position because of arthritis limits an elderly from painting a beautiful picture or lifting a cup to his or her mouth. A conversation that continues to repeat itself are signs of a bad day for an elderly. The mind is unable to remember. All of these examples are reasons a baby and an elder both need assistance in their daily routines.

I have enjoyed interacting with the elderly that reside in the home. I would also have to say growing old is very sad. I do not look forward to not be able to provide for myself. I know some may disagree and think I am cruel for saying that but it is the truth. I am thankful that we have retirement homes to help with assistance for those who do not have family who are able to assist. It takes a special person to work with the elderly. They must be very patient and understand. It can be annoying to hear the same story over again from an elder person. You must engage yourself and treat it as if you are hearing the conversation for the first time.

Over all it was a great experience. You must be able to step out of your comfort zone and be able to adapt to the environment you are in.

Mirror Image

Passion is shown by both Mortenson in "Three Cups of Tea" written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, and Emma who lives at the Everett Sunrise View Retirement Villa & Convalescent Center. "It had taken Morten son more than three years, years of false steps, failures, and delays, to drive the Korphe School from promise to completion" (David Relin page 191). Warmth running through your veins of a completed project that benefits people besides yourself takes a passionate person to represent. As I have spent my time with the ladies at Sunrise View Retirement Villa, Emma earns a special place in my heart. Filled with joy, Emma loves being part of the competitive games played by the residents. She spends her free time assisting with the less unfortunate residence. Emma contacted adult chicken pox four years ago and was told she would never be able to function completely with speech and motor skills again. Having a heart full of passion she took on the challenge and proved she would be able to be as she once was. During her rehabilitation she was part of the cared for group needing additional assistance. Now fully recovered she volunteers her time to spend with her old friends she made through the rough times. She is very passionate about all of them and seeing them through their rough times. Emma shows me a mirror image of Mortensons passion and how it drives them both to do good to others.

Sunrise View Retirement Villa & Convalescent Center

The organization I will be volunteer for is Sunrise View Retirement Villa & Convalescent Center located in Everett, WA. Sunrise "began as a private home. Licensed as the Lillian A. Abrahamson Nursing home" (Historical information from handbook). The home provides elderly a place that he or she is able to live with additional assistance but on his or her own. I will be assisting the activity directors with arts and craft projects, interactive games with the community whom reside in the home. The site is divided in to two groups one is almost like a hospital, they need 24 hour assistance from licensed nurses. The other group is pretty independent just needing a little guidance and assistance. I do not start my volunteer time until January 30th, but I can say from the interview I was able to observe some activity. Music was playing through the halls and groups were gathered in the cafeteria for lunch. As we walked down the other hall way the picture of a hospital floor with nurse staff attending the needs of the elder patients is what was seen. The smell reminded me of when I was a child and accompanied my grandma to work as she worked in a retirement home. A mix of older perfume and hospital sterile smells. To be completely honest I chose this service because they were able to work with my schedule, I am a banker and work every other Saturday. I was truly opened to volunteering at any of the service learning sites, I guess you could say they chose me because they were able to be flexible with me.

Interview with Sunrise View

I had my interview at Sunrise View Retirement Villa. An activity director was whom I spoke with and was a great person. I felt as if I was interview her. I asked how long she had worked for Sunrise View. She said when she was 3 her mom opened a hair salon in the Sunrise Retirement and she would go to work with her and the ladies taught her how to play cards. When she was a teen she was asked to volunteer and she did. When she was a young adult she was asked to be an activity assistant and she did. Then she left for a couple of years and was asked back in 2002 to be an activity director and excepted. Her mom still work's the hair salon and her grandma resides in the retirement villa. What a great story to here. It reminded me of when I was under the age of ten and my grandma worked at a retirement home. I would tag along with her to some of her shift there and found myself learning so much for the ladies that lived there. I looked forward to the visits.

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