1. What are your hopes for the service-learning project?
In this serving-learning project I hope to gain a few things. I am excited to be able to share my time and talents with others. By doing this, I hope to learn from those that I will be surrounded by. I want to gain new experiences and try new things. I would like to be able to practice looking for the things that I am learning in class in the "real world."
2. What are your assumptions about your service-learning site?
I am not positive where my partner and I will be going yet. We decided that we would both like to serve at a Nursing Home or assist the elderly. I have found 3 places that are affiliated with St. Ambrose that are possibilities! I am assuming that the first day might be intimidating, but once I get adjusted everything will be great. I am sure that since the places that I am considering are affiliated with St. Ambrose, that the school has had good luck with them in the past. I am hoping that they will be helpful in setting up volunteer time so that I will be able to serve them as well.
3. What do you already know/or assume about the work they do?
The places that I am looking at doing my service are responsible for caring for the elderly. One place has daily activities and classes for seniors. They also have an adult day care center. The second service site is an actual nursing home. Here, the residents are continually cared for by nurses and nursing assistants. The third site is a retirement community that offers independent living, assisted living, and skilled care.
4. What do you know/or assume about the population they serve?
I know that the population that these sites serve consists of elderly people. Often times they may need assistance with little things such as being taken from one room to another or reaching a t.v. remote. Most often, the residents just want attention. Because there are a number of people at each site, residents may not always get individual attention. Sometimes all they need to brighten their day is a friend to talk to!
5. What connections/interests/passions do you have for this site or the population it serves?
I am very interested in volunteering my time for the elderly. I am a Nursing major and became a Certified Nursing Assistant last summer. In order to become a CNA, I had to spend 8 hours every Friday at a nursing home for several weeks. This experience helped me to learn the skills necessary to become a CNA. It also helped me because I had never worked much with the elderly. I was able to learn a lot by being around them. I learned that many of them crave attention. They love having people come visit them because often times there families fail to do so. Many people had dates marked down on their calendars when a family member was supposed to come visit. Several of them had pictures that they loved to flip through and show to visitors. Seeing how happy they were with the little time that I was able to spend with them made me want to volunteer with the elderly again.
