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Nov 19, 2009
Today’s lesson at the shelter was on communication: how effectively we are able to do it and problems that often hinder getting messages across. This week we had a lot of material to cover and actually didn’t end up being able to cover everything that we wanted to discuss. There was a really interesting info sheet on interviewing and on what interview questions really mean that we did not get to discuss as well as some information on passive and aggressive communication that would have been interesting to the residents. Unfortunately close to the end two of our shelter ladies had to leave for a mandatory chemistry lecture, so Yaa and I finished up the lesson. When we only had ten minutes remaining I started a worksheet on what certain body positions tell another person, but this was a bad choice of materials--I think it would have been better to do the interview question sheet: it would help the residents more in the long run. Other than that, the lesson went well and everyone participated. About halfway through the lesson two of the residents came into the shelter soaked to the bone from the pouring rain. They didn’t have any sort of umbrella, rain coat, or anything else that would keep them dry, and after coming in they just sat down and joined the lesson instead of going to change or taking off their soaked clothes-- reminding me how little they have to come back too.
Posted at 09:07 pm by dorrme01
Nov 18, 2009
It was a seemingly busy day at the Soup Kitchen on Tuesday. There were 5 volunteers working and everyone was kept busy. For lunch was a delicious chicken, cheese, and spaghetti casserole with a side of meatballs and salad. All the guests enjoyed the meal and many got seconds. 41 people came into eat. A nurse from Gettysburg Hospital came in, as she does one tuesday every month, and took the blood pressure of those who wanted to know. Many people are very happy when the nurse comes because for many, it is their only way of receiving health care. Many guests were talking about and asking the servers questions about the dentist that was supposedly coming to the soup kitchen the following day. Jan confirmed that the dentist would be available to see free of charge at another church, but not the Soup Kitchen. Once it started slowing down and everyone was served, Jan asked me to make apple sauce again. I am becoming an expert! All the volunteers took turns washing and drying the dishes. When we all sat down to eat, one of the other volunteers was talking about how her daughter, currently a hospice nurse, wants to incorporate helping the homeless in her job. She wants to be a hospice nurse for homeless people so that they do not die alone. While I didn't know that this job existed, and am still not sure if it does or if she wanted to create it, it is an extremely admirable and moving job. Since the majority of homeless people living on the streets on single individuals, in most cases they have nobody in their lives. It would be especially hard to have no one by your side when you are ill and dying. This volunteer's daughter's idea to become a hospice nurse for the homeless is great. Posted at 04:28 pm by Maureen Hudson
Today we collected 81.4 lbs. of food. Megan thought that we would have a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers from Servo, but there ended up being nothing of the sort! Apparently, we ate all the turkey last night! Instead, Servo donated pancakes, sausage, chicken enchiladas, and taco soup! We got a large donation of canned soup, lots of yogurt, which I was happy to see, bread, fruit, veggies, and sandwiches and cookies from Sheetz. Although we didn't get quite what we suspected we would after our large feast last night at Servo, we collected a good donation, and much of it was pretty healthy foods! A lot of plastic containers were also donated, which Megan said they really need. So that was positive, too! It will be interesting to see what is donated when we get back, as we continue through the holiday season!
Posted at 03:42 pm by hallan06
Biglerville Tutoring 11/17/09
This time at Biglerville I was hopeful that the session would go better with Jagger and Mitchell. I saw Mitchell and he gave me his usual big smile as I walked into the cafeteria. Jagger also gave me a slight hello. Two seconds later I turned around to find Mitchell chasing another student behind the curtain of the stage in the cafeteria. I had my doubts yet again but once we got into the media room to do homework I was very pleased. Jagger had already done part of his homework ahead of time, so he really had very little to do. I was talking to him when he was done with his homework, trying to get to know him better. Mitchell very politely tapped me on the shoulder and asked for my help. I was so glad that standing on his chair was a thing of the past. Mitchell and Jagger finished their homework so early that they had a good amount of time to play in the gym. We played a game they made up with a bouncy ball. Overall a very successful tutoring session.
Posted at 02:25 pm by curlta01
Biglerville Tutoring 11/10/09
This time at tutoring I was informed that one of the tutors had to drop out so I would be tutoring an additional student from now on. I met Jagger and I was told that he was a great student who sits and does his homework without complaints or hissy fits. I thought this wouldn’t be a problem, but Mitchell was upset by the fact that he did not have my undivided attention. I saw Jagger start his homework right away, like always I told my students if they needed my help to just say so. I think that Jagger wasn’t fully comfortable with me yet so he stared at his worksheet for a good 5 minutes, really lost. Mitchell seemed like he had his worksheet under control, so I turned my attention to Jagger. After talking the worksheet through with Jagger it seemed he was understanding the concept of giving correct change but was having problems making change when an item cost something other than 25, 50, or 75 cents. While I was trying to help Jagger with the only homework he really had, Mitchell decided to do his homework while standing on his chair. I gave him the attention he wanted because I would never want him to hurt himself. Mitchell needed scissors for his worksheet, so I told him that I would cut it out since the only scissors in the room were adult scissors, which the students are not allowed to use. I came over, scissors in hand, and asked for his worksheet; instead Mitchell tried to grab the scissors out of my hand. I wouldn’t let go because once again I would never want him to hurt himself. He finally let go and I cut out what he needed. The session went on and Mitchell was still acting out and disrupting students. Once they were done with their homework we went to the gym to play. At first Jagger and Mitchell were fighting over the Jenga blocks, but the time clean up rolled around they had constructed a building together. Jagger left first and I told him he did a good job. Then Mitchells said “I did a good job today too right?” I explained to him that he was not the usual good student I know he can be and I told him that he needed to improve. He told me he was sorry and he would be better next time. I think it was hard to have his normal routine disrupted by another student. Mitchell likes consistency, for example, he asked me one day why I hadn’t brought my Gettysburg Nalgene. After seeing Mitchell and Jagger playing together I am confident next session will be more successful.
Posted at 01:44 pm by curlta01
Nov 17, 2009
Today a senior there asked me, ¡°Do you like to be here?¡± I said,¡±Yep, definitely!¡± Later, another senior gave a much better answer: She will not be there every time if she doesn¡¯t like here!
Today when Chris was eating his ladyfingers, he asked me, ¡°Do you want to try one?¡± I said, ¡°No, thanks!¡± Then he said, ¡°Grace wants two instead of one!¡± These answers are the ones that really surprised me. I don¡¯t think I can come up with these answers if I were them. So here again, it approves that when one grow old, one¡¯s mind does not necessarily grow old together with the physical degradation.
During the game, Chris told me excitedly that President Obama was in China now. I¡¯m so glad to hear that because first they remember where I come from and second, they care to pay attention to the news about China. Sometimes it¡¯s like this, one begins to know one thing because that thing is related to his/her friends in some way. So in this way, my simple existence will let other people know more about my nation and any random facts about it.
There¡¯s a woman in Gettysburg Senior Center who I¡¯ve noticed for a long time. She never plays cards with other seniors and even merely talks with others. Every time, she just sits at the table next to us and just .sits there, doing nothing else. Next time, I think I should pay more attention to her. Probably I should chat with her. Ask her how are you first and give her a big smile. It¡¯s kind of ironic that I¡¯ve already been at Gettysburg Senior Center for such a long time, but I just think I should pay more attention to that senior. Probably it¡¯s the same reason why we ignore some invulnerable groups. The groups may not protest or say anything else. They just accept the fact as it and we ignore and take them for granted without even notice we are doing it. So next time, from that senior, I¡¯ll pay more attention to those people who need our care and help more. Posted at 10:54 pm by Qian_Wei
Nov 15, 2009
They Haven't Lost Their Spunk
As we get on to the busy, stressful part of the semester on campus, it becomes harder and harder to set aside time to go volunteer at the Senior’s Center. There is always something else pressing that needs to be done here on campus, or a paper that needs to be written, or a meeting that you ought to go to. I remind myself in these situations, however, why it is that I volunteer, and why that hour and a half with the seniors is far more important than in my dorm doing homework. Honestly, there will always be homework so it can always wait a little longer. Playing cards with the seniors is way more fun, and probably has a bigger impact on them than reading a textbook does on me. So I guess what I’m getting at here is that it’s nice and important to get away from my life, put aside the stresses, and spend some time where life moves at a much different pace and has a much different meaning.
One woman today asked how my classes were going. I think she used to be a teacher because she is always asking about school and how I’m doing in classes and how much homework I have. I told her briefly about my courses and how I had a couple big papers coming up. Her immediate response was one of concern for me, ‘why do you come here? You have so many important things to be doing at school?’. My reply was something along the lines of ‘because this is more important’. It is. Just because the folks I hang out with at the Senior’s Center are old, that doesn’t mean they have lost their feelings or desire for friendship and companionship. I can imagine that they get rather lonely. If I can help by spending time with them, playing a game of cards, sharing a laugh or listening to a story or memory, then I am more than willing to do those things.
I get the privilege of spending quality time with them. Each week, I never want to leave the center. There are new friendships built there. One woman constantly makes me laugh because she talks to herself and makes up silly words as she is taking her turn in the card game. Her friends tease her about it, but I think it’s cute. Another woman is very tiny, but has a very slick mind. Anyone who plays cards with her has to watch her closely because she cheats by claiming she got confused. Her friends have reassured me though that she just likes to pull the wool over our eyes. Another woman, whom I mentioned earlier when she asked about my classes, uses a walker to get around. But that doesn’t stop her, or even slow her down. Her daughter, also one of the seniors who frequent the Center, has a quick wit. She has an opinion about everything and an infectious laugh. The camaraderie between them all, and now myself as well, is a beautiful sight. They all spend their days at the Center to be together and have fun because the more time I spend with them the more I see there is still a lot of life left in them all. There’s spunk and vivacity and humor and talent that are strong. It’s a breath of fresh air and almost something to look forward to when I am their age.
Posted at 11:50 am by Lauren Roedner
Nov 14, 2009
11/12/09 - When we entered the shelter some of the residents were sorting through boxes of clothes and other things. They immediately informed us that they needed to continue sorting through the boxes, and we realized that we could not teach the lesson we had planned because it was a very interactive lesson. Instead we helped the residents fold clothes and decide what should go to the mission, and what should stay. I really enjoyed this visit to the shelter because I got to hold a conversation with some of the residents. We had fun sorting through the clothes, and joking around. However, I felt that some of the residents were slightly offended that we did not take any of the clothes because they might have felt that we thought we’re “too good” for the clothes donated to the shelter. Of course this is not the case, but I still felt slightly awkward being in that position, and regret not accepting something just so they didn’t think this. Also, some of the things donated to the shelter were horrendous! The received a box full of mannequin heads, a box of condoms, and many clothes that had holes too big in them to repair. It’s as if people are sending the message that homeless people don’t have standards for the things they own. This bothered me a lot. All of the residents at the shelter dress respectably, and if you were to see them on the street you would never guess they were homeless from their appearance. It’s funny how a kind act can turn into something that is demoralizing in a sense. While we might not have a taught a lesson, I certainly felt like I learned one.
Posted at 01:34 pm by gerrmi01
11/6/09 - Today we attempted to answer some follow-up questions about the housing authority and also had a discussion about the health care reform. Melissa did a great job presenting the material about the health care reform, especially because it is really difficult to understand health care, and what is going on with it. We also read an article about the seven myths of Health Care. All of the shelter ladies were a little anxious about this lesson because we didn’t have many ideas for a lesson this week, and weren’t sure if health care would be controversial or just too confusing for us to do a good job teaching it. The lesson turned out well though. The residents had some great opinions and questions about health care, and had a very open mind about the issue. I really respect the residents of the homeless shelter because they have a lot of reasons to be upset with the government because of the current health care situation, but they showed no resentment, and only had encouraging words to say about it. That is such a great approach for them to take on this issue, and I really enjoyed hearing what they had to say about it.
Posted at 01:34 pm by gerrmi01
10/29/09 - This week for the life skills class we had Christiana speak about the housing authority. We brought a game just in case the residents got tired of listening to us talk for the whole hour, but we didn’t need the game. Most of the residents wanted to share their opinion about the housing authority (it was generally a negative opinion). Christiana explained the different programs of the housing authority, and was happy to answer all the questions the residents had. Christiana did a great job presenting the information, and I feel that the residents got a lot out of the lesson. Christiana told them honest information about the housing authority, and I think the resident’s appreciated that. This class really made everything so real to me. It hit me that they had nowhere to go. They are all good people that work hard to make a living, but the world is telling them that it’s not enough. What are they supposed to do after their time at the shelter is up?
Posted at 01:33 pm by gerrmi01
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