Community service and volunteering is important to ensure events happen and so that they run smoothly. During the presentations in class, many of the presenters mentioned how important volunteering was for their success, for example the Easter Seals. For me, volunteering is a valuable and educational experience that is rewarding. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon my volunteer experiences and to illustrate how the knowledge obtained throughout this course has impacted my way of thinking during my volunteering experiences. I chose to volunteer at St. Patrick’s Mercy Home. I had already been volunteering there for the past year. I volunteered with the Recreational Therapy Department, where I assisted the residents play bingo, do exercises,
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One thing I would do differently is to encourage people to be more involved in the activity. Something I seen a lot at St. Patrick’s were family members or other volunteers playing bingo themselves because they assumed the resident they were assisting could not play. I feel like it is a common misconception that seniors need extensive care with whatever they do. This is not the case and these seniors want to be independent (Plath, 2008). I would also do research before I volunteer at places I would be introduced to new experiences. For example, if I was planning on volunteering and had to transport people back and forth who were confined to wheelchairs for the first time like I had to during this volunteering experience, I would research the best way to transport them, and how to maneuver them around tight spaces. I would also research whichever disabilities were prominent in the area I will be working in to get a better understanding of them, and how to best help the individuals with those …show more content…
These people over-react to any accomplishments, and they talk to residents as if they are uneducated. Not only have I noticed this at St. Patrick’s Mercy Home, but I see it happening in my day to day life. The general population need to be educated on this matter because it happens frequently, and may have a negative impact on the elderly, because they feel degraded. This can be related back to how some people interact with individuals with disabilities. During the presentation about visual impairment, the visually impaired man explained how most people do not know how to communicate with those that are blind. He went on to say how some people grab the blind person to try and help them when they do not like this at all and it can frighten
One thing I would do differently is to encourage people to be more involved in the activity. Something I seen a lot at St. Patrick’s were family members or other volunteers playing bingo themselves because they assumed the resident they were assisting could not play. I feel like it is a common misconception that seniors need extensive care with whatever they do. This is not the case and these seniors want to be independent (Plath, 2008). I would also do research before I volunteer at places I would be introduced to new experiences. For example, if I was planning on volunteering and had to transport people back and forth who were confined to wheelchairs for the first time like I had to during this volunteering experience, I would research the best way to transport them, and how to maneuver them around tight spaces. I would also research whichever disabilities were prominent in the area I will be working in to get a better understanding of them, and how to best help the individuals with those …show more content…
These people over-react to any accomplishments, and they talk to residents as if they are uneducated. Not only have I noticed this at St. Patrick’s Mercy Home, but I see it happening in my day to day life. The general population need to be educated on this matter because it happens frequently, and may have a negative impact on the elderly, because they feel degraded. This can be related back to how some people interact with individuals with disabilities. During the presentation about visual impairment, the visually impaired man explained how most people do not know how to communicate with those that are blind. He went on to say how some people grab the blind person to try and help them when they do not like this at all and it can frighten