Waiting to begin......

I had my orientation at the Phoebe home this week. It was an hour and a half of walking around and learning their policies. I have a packet of information to go through and circle answers for and I will have to repeat that every year I'm there. Volunteers mainly take residents to appointments (haircuts, Bingo, inside doctor visits, therapy, etc.) or help with activities, act as a Companion/visitor, Library assistant (some sites), Distribute water, Deliver mail, Receptionist (some sites), Office helper, or as a Tour guide She said she'll probably have us just go around visiting different floors and maybe help with some activties. But we can't start volunteering there until the ban on young people visiting is lifted.Now not even their junior volunteers can go because of the swine flu. It's to protect the elderly there, they have to get word from the state when the ban can be lifted.
So far I'm really impressed with the place. Since it's such a large place I was worried they might be very corporate. But they said they are very life friendly-full of plants and birds, fish, cats, and a rabbit. They stressed ways to deal with people so that you aren't frustrating or belittling them, and so that you remember to give them their privacy since this is their home now. They have murals painted all over. Decorations and birthday lists and pictures of events all over the walls. In the alzheimer's floor they have shaddow boxes outside each door, so the residents and their visitors can remember who they used to be before the disease. That floor is painted in green-chosen because it's a soothing color, and has lots of pictures of a time that would be the resident's childhood. It just seemed really sweet and caring.......as though the staff truly cares about the work they do. And she said they have a lot of volunteers who have been there for many years, some over twenty! To me that says that they are happy there and it's a good place to be. I'm looking forward to this, I think it will be a good experience for us!

Good News

Next week I interview at the Baum School of Art to see if we qualify for a scholarship. I'm excited, I'd written a letter to them about two months ago so by this point I'd lost hope.

I'm also going to get a TB test tomorrow so I can become an official volunteer at the Phoebe home. The kids would just come with me, I don't have to fill out anything or have tests done on them. This was another way to get out more and also to teach the kids it's important to give back to the community and to help others. I also think it will be valuable for them to be around the elderly, to learn that they have stories and information to pass on.