Service Hours

On December 4, 2011 from 9am-2:30pm (5 and a half hours), I volunteered at the Claremont retirement home. I was a bit nervous on the way to Claremont because I have never been in a retirement home and I did not know what to expect. For a part of my day, I called out bingo to the residents. When I was calling the bingo game, I noticed how everyone seemed so depressed and was just sitting there staring their cards. I felt bad for them because I kept thinking to myself how I would feel if I was trapped inside this retirement home and my only form of entrainment was reading, bingo, and TV. After bingo I walked around all the floors and gave everyone their daily newspapers. That was a little better because I actually got to interact with them a little. The resident either just looked at me and grabbed the paper or they were really nice and I had a conversation with them. The most interesting part about the day was when my supervisor told me that some of the residents get very happy when young kids come to volunteer because after she told me that, I started to look for it. As I was walking around passing out newspapers, some of the residents had a huge smile when i came up to them and seemed so happy to talk to me. It felt good knowing that I was making someone els happy just by my presence. I am going to complete my Service Hours at the Claremont.