Service Slippers

This Monday at the Veterans’ Home I helped out in the Volunteer department for a while and then headed on over to Crafts and Hobbies. I expected to see Joe there. He’s the staffer that usually works in crafts. But to my surprise, he had taken the day off. Apparently his kid has some health issues that they had to go to the hospital to have checked out. This meant it was just me and the residents. It was just me and the residents then. It’s kind of fun to hangout for the afternoon with all of the residents. They are all so relaxed. It’s a really nice break from the craziness we all call college life.

One of the ladies came in with some new house slippers she’d just gotten. The problem with the slippers were that the kept falling off. So, we found her some edging material that would work well for a strap. Then we cut some pieces and I sewed them on for her. Now her slippers stay on. It was cool because I know that the residents basically get given everything, but on the flip side, hardly anyone goes beyond what is expected or required. She didn’t expect me to do that for her, even though there really wasn’t much else for me to be doing, and she was so appreciative. She kept telling me over and over how thankful she was and how nice I must be to be willing to do a thing like that. I’m pretty sure I made her day.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in there too. There are Christmas ornaments and trees and bouquets everywhere. Charlie has been quite busy. He’s the one that makes the bouquets of false flowers and stuff. It’s cool how other peoples’ birdhouses, ornaments, and figurines find their way into his bouquets and he makes them fit so well. 

Crafts, Hobbies, and Cats (108)

If you know me very well, or pretty much at all, you know I’m not very much of an artsy fartsy kind of a guy. In fact, I think it would be a stretch to say I’ve made anything pretty or cute this year, and the year is 85% gone. The fact I made 10 out of 12 months into a statistic, almost subconsciously is perhaps more revealing than anything else I could say.  All this to say, I’ll be going in a couple days to do my third Monday afternoon in the Crafts and Hobbies room at IVH.

The people who visit me seem to be a fairly religious group. Charlie, for example, has made dozens, perhaps a hundred false floral bouquets. He loves what he does and hoped they’d sell well at the sale they have at the annual state wide VFW reunion. That sale was today, so I’m sure I’ll hear how it went on Monday. The reason it’s important that their crafts sell well is because that is how the Crafts and Hobbies department justifies its extra programing costs, they sell the crafts made. 

One of the residents’ favorite parts of Crafts and Hobbies (besides Charlie and his flowers and Harold and his paintable clay figurines) are the cats. Rascal and Lucy keep everyone entertained.  Rascal is a slightly scrawny, male cat who loves attention. Rascal also loves the pillows some of the residents have on their wheel chairs. If one of them sits in a regular chair to work, he’s sure to crash out on their wheel chair. That is, he’ll take a nap there if he’s not too busy laying on my physics or chemistry book I’m trying to read between helping residents. Lucy is a little more timid and refined. She doesn’t like walkers, carts, or wheel chairs. She doesn’t even like being walked up to very much. But if she’s on a table, she’s happy to let you pet her, a lot.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m really enjoying it. It’s so peaceful and nice in that little, colorful room with the big windows.

Making New Friends: IVH and the Alzheimer Unit (108)

I’ve mostly made it through another week of school. It’s trying to kill me, but hasn’t succeeded just yet. My chemistry exam Monday and calculus one on Tuesday may though.

I spent my last 3+ hours reading the Indiana Veterans’ Home (IVH) volunteer information. I am tired of reading it, but hey, I’m done now and I learned quite a lot about the Home.

Basically, they take care of about 300 people. About 250 of those people are Hoosier men who have served in the military during time of war and the 30-50 women are primarily spouses of men in the home or widows of veterans with a few female veterans mixed in.  IVH is a large and State run institution, so it naturally has many inefficiencies, but it is readily apparent that they truly care for the residents and want what is best for them.

One other cool thing about the Veterans’ Home (especially applicable to me) is the way they use volunteers. They really work to put volunteers to work in a way that will use their skills, time, and motivation to bless and help care for the veterans. They do not ask you to do silly things or tell you there is nothing you can do. They encourage volunteers to work in dozens of roles all over the home, helping residents in every way from helping them get their meal trays to visiting with them to wheeling them all over creation to flower and garden work to who knows what else.

When I was there Thursday for orientation, we went on an extended and detailed walking tour of the campus. Carolyn (the Volunteer Coordinator) took us up to the Alzheimer unit because it was getting late (past 8 pm) and that’s the only place you’re sure to find people up. About eight very awake residents were sitting on couches and in various types of wheelchairs having ice-cream and sherbet. We got to spend about 10 minutes talking to them. Despite a few very sad comments from patients about wanting to go home and such impossible things, I had a blast with the residents and now I think I may do my service at least in part there in the Alzheimer unit. I never would have thought of doing that before.