I love people- interacting with them, making them smile, and generally being around them. I like to help people, and Key Club gives me that opportunity. That’s why I try and go to every event that I can. This summer, we had an opportunity to go volunteer at Grace Care, a nursing home off of Huffmeister, on the day before Father’s Day. I have a special place in my heart for all elderly people. Although my grandparents passed away when I was young, I’ve been exposed to them all my life. Something about talking to them just warms my heart. That’s why I was so thrilled with going to spend some time with them at this event. When we arrived, one of the correspondents explained that we would be passing out father’s day cards to all the men in the facility, and keeping the residents company. We split into two groups, and immediately began to realize a problem. There were only a handful of men there! It took us only about half an hour to cover the entire nursing home and pass out cards to the fathers. We still had about 2 hours left, and none of us were ready to leave yet. There was still work to be done. An, Brandon, and Minjung played the piano for the nursing home, and entertained some of the occupants. Our Key Club also went around the nursing home visiting with the residents and listening to their stories. We met one woman who had served for the Secret Service, and another who loved to color. I met a man named Richard who didn’t say much, but smiled like it was Christmas morning when we walked in. We discovered that many just wanted someone to talk to, so we gave that to them. We stood around their beds while they told us stories from their pasts, and asked us questions about ours. The nurses and staff looked just as happy that there were people visiting with their patients. Just as it made the elderly’s day, it made mine too. This experience was so rich and rewarding. It made me very happy to hear about their life, and to know that their day was made just a little better by a 5-minute conversation. Overall, I would very much recommend that everyone go volunteer at a nursing home this upcoming school year. It will not only be good for the residing elderly, but yourself too. |
Essay SubmissionsThis is a page dedicated to article submissions by the members of Cypress Ridge Key Club! Please send in your essay/picture submissions to [email protected], and title your email as [Name, Submission]. You will be contacted if your submission is uploaded onto the website. Archives
October 2021
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