First time volunteering for the elders...wonderful experience
Today I volunteered at Evergreen Place Retirement Resident for the first time. I was in charge of handing out auction items to the elders. I noticed that there were a lot more bids for practical items, such as paper towels and tissue paper as opposed to items such as jewerly or a certificate for ice cream with 7 friends. The auctioneer kept on saying stuff like "Get this for your grandchildren or great grandchildren!" and I felt a little sad that no one would bid even when he said that. It made me think that they don't interact with their families too much. What really got me was when the auctioneer introduced a certificate for free ice cream with 7 friends. It got all quiet and suddenly, a man asked, "What if you don't have 7 friends?" That broke my heart. For a while, no one would bid on that item, but then someone finally did, at the lowest bid, I think. I found it so funny that everyone wanted Kleenex. I felt sad when 2 people kept on bidding against each other for a long time because that meant one person would have to pay a lot higher once the other person gives up. I know it sounds weird, but it made me sad. Sometimes during the auction, I would look around the room and tried to picture how the elders looked decades ago. It's like, we start out as babies and then grow up to be adults, then turn back into babies because they need to be taken care of.
After the auction, I met a few elders. None of them wanted me to help them carry their auction items to their rooms. I met Bob Duke. He asked me if I knew his step granddaughter, Amanda Locke, who went to Liberty 2 years ago.
I then helped Suzanne, the activites coordinator, with calulations of the elders' funny money and cleaned the popcorn machine. She said that she could arrange me my own volunteer activity with the seniors once every 2nd Saturday of the month, but she/I would have to make up an activity. But before that can happen, she thinks I should play baseball beanbag with the seniors on some Mondays to get to know them better. The only problem I have is with transportation. There is no bus route from my house that goes near there. And my parents are reluctant to drive me since they don't want me to volunteer because they see it as working for free, and they don't want me to work. They see it as suffering, as many Asian parents do. It's because they were brought up to believe that underpriviledge kids work and the lucky ones do not. I guess it's hard for them to adjust to the American culture, where many kids want to work, not necessarily because they need to.
At the end of volunteering, I was invited to have dinner with Suzanne and the two managers, Mr. and Mrs. Slovan, who actually live in the building. Suzanne told the couple that I was interested in being a social worker and then we had a super awesome conversation about their experiences as social workers. They both worked in many different areas of social work, such as with rapists and disabled kids/adults. Mrs. Slovan was most touched through working with down syndrome kids. They both advised me to not get emotionally attached to anyone as a social worker and that I must stay objective and not baby anyone. I must teach/help them be independent, and not have them depend on me too much (and vice versa). I asked Mrs. Slovan why she wanted to become a social worker and she gave me an answer that I could relate to so much. It was the exact reason why I wanted to become a social worker. She said that she has always been an advocate for the underdog. I didn't have a chance to ask Mr. Slovan because he had to help an elderly lady into the ambulance.
I left the place at 6:36pm and walked around in the dark. I went to Walgreens, the Dollar Store, Goodwill, and Viet Wah and bought my sister and brother, and myself some treats. Then, I got picked up by my brother. Today was wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to read this extremely long entry.
After the auction, I met a few elders. None of them wanted me to help them carry their auction items to their rooms. I met Bob Duke. He asked me if I knew his step granddaughter, Amanda Locke, who went to Liberty 2 years ago.
I then helped Suzanne, the activites coordinator, with calulations of the elders' funny money and cleaned the popcorn machine. She said that she could arrange me my own volunteer activity with the seniors once every 2nd Saturday of the month, but she/I would have to make up an activity. But before that can happen, she thinks I should play baseball beanbag with the seniors on some Mondays to get to know them better. The only problem I have is with transportation. There is no bus route from my house that goes near there. And my parents are reluctant to drive me since they don't want me to volunteer because they see it as working for free, and they don't want me to work. They see it as suffering, as many Asian parents do. It's because they were brought up to believe that underpriviledge kids work and the lucky ones do not. I guess it's hard for them to adjust to the American culture, where many kids want to work, not necessarily because they need to.
At the end of volunteering, I was invited to have dinner with Suzanne and the two managers, Mr. and Mrs. Slovan, who actually live in the building. Suzanne told the couple that I was interested in being a social worker and then we had a super awesome conversation about their experiences as social workers. They both worked in many different areas of social work, such as with rapists and disabled kids/adults. Mrs. Slovan was most touched through working with down syndrome kids. They both advised me to not get emotionally attached to anyone as a social worker and that I must stay objective and not baby anyone. I must teach/help them be independent, and not have them depend on me too much (and vice versa). I asked Mrs. Slovan why she wanted to become a social worker and she gave me an answer that I could relate to so much. It was the exact reason why I wanted to become a social worker. She said that she has always been an advocate for the underdog. I didn't have a chance to ask Mr. Slovan because he had to help an elderly lady into the ambulance.
I left the place at 6:36pm and walked around in the dark. I went to Walgreens, the Dollar Store, Goodwill, and Viet Wah and bought my sister and brother, and myself some treats. Then, I got picked up by my brother. Today was wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to read this extremely long entry.