Artifact: I chooses this because I learned a lot by serving the elderly community and It was a great learning experience!!
Service Project Report
The organization I choose to work with this summer was called Courtyard Towers nursing homes. Some of activities the nursing home offers are bingo, wii games, card games, go on shopping outings, go out to lunch, many other activities they all can participate in. The facility has 98 employees, and 180 residents. My grandmas floor has 16 residents, 2 caregivers, a nurse, and an activities director. The ratio on her floor is eight to one. The typical day starts with breakfast, a couple activities, then lunch, and the same in the afternoon before dinner. The days I went I specifically went to do activities with the residents to get them out. I did games like bingo, cards, and puzzles. All the residents don’t normally do the activities especially if no one takes them. Like my grandma and many other residents they have to have a staff or family member to take them to the main floor for activities. Throughout my time there at the organization my relationship definitely changed. I haven't been that close with my grandma but visiting with her and the other residents made me realize all she wants is to be loved and played with, same with the other residents. I learned many things about the organization, I observed the nurses very closely. I noticed they build relationships with all the residents and know everyone’s name by heart. They care about each resident and provide individual needs to each. I learned also that they are very organized, I never noticed it before. They know every little thing that is going on and when I arrive they know exactly where my grandma is. They have a set schedule and stick to it. My visits to Courtyard towers made me what to continue to go and visit and help out any way I can. If that’s playing games or take residents down for lunch, I want to help and serve. I learned a lot about myself by volunteering there, it made me realize that I should be doing this more even if my grandma wasn’t there. All these elderly people want is to be loved and respected, they at least deserve that. My attitude has definitely changed, I never liked nursing home, or cared to much to visit my grandma, I always felt uncomfortable. I soon realized that coming and visiting all of the residents just made their day so much better. They were happy and joyful. I definitely noticed when a resident is acting out it definitely has a lot to do with something that had happened before. For example, my grandmas attitude definitely changed one time when I visited. She had been pushing her walker down the aisle really fast in front of her and it could have easily hurt another resident. One of the nurses came up to her and told her she can’t do that anymore, she wasn’t too happy. Our attitudes definitely change our behavior and affect our days. The best thing about my experience was I got to make my grandma and other residents feel important. Many residents don’t have visitors. I was to able spend time with my grandma, and get to know her better. I took the time to get to know her as a kid, I realize now I should be visiting more. I was surprised that my grandma actually enjoyed me being there, I never really knew if she liked me or not. I can't say we had much a relationship before but I now value it. I will definitely stay and volunteer, not just because my grandma is there but because all the residents deserve to have fun with others as well as look forward to visitors.
