What’s the Word

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2012; 6:30-8 pm

Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

I had limited experience in volunteering, the last instance being 4 years ago when I worked a few evenings in Pittsburgh’s Ten Thousand Villages.  My job there was mostly handling the cash register and occasionally directing people towards certain artifacts.  There were some nights when I was a part of the closing crew, which meant vacuuming and/or cleaning the wash room.  While I did talk with people at the register, it was not a task which required much interaction. 

Thus it was with a slight trepidation that I registered for a volunteer opportunity at a Nursing facility – someplace where interaction was not only inevitable, it was almost mandatory.  I had found Chicago Cares through a Google search for volunteering opportunities.  I was slightly disillusioned at the time and was looking for a reason to believe in our ability as humans to be kind, patient and understanding.  I was looking for heroism.

Community Room

Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is a nursing facility for seniors and other residents who need skilled nursing care.  This volunteering opportunity was to help the seniors create their own newsletter.  I arrived there at 6:30 pm after work and was directed towards a community room where many of the seniors spend their evenings either socializing or watching television or just getting away from their rooms.  Gwen, our leader arrived and asked us to assemble around a table where the 3 other volunteers besides us, were joined by 3 seniors – Jim, Jack and Larry. 

Jim requires an oxygen cylinder wherever he goes, but is very active and was pretty sharp in his discussions.  It was his birthday that week and so Gwen had baked him his favorite cookies, also making sure to mix other types that are Jack’s and Larry’s favorites.  Jack is in a wheelchair and not as talkative.  But he is quite alert and I was floored to learn that he is a World War II veteran.  In fact, he recalled a time when he shook General Eisenhower’s hand when stationed in Germany.  Larry is a very interesting character and while he looks as if he is always in a bad mood and would rather stay away, he was very involved in our evening’s activities. 

Our task was to work on the Bi-monthly newsletter, ‘As We See It’, along with some of the residents.  Every two weeks Gwen gets together with them to design the upcoming issue and then there is a final read through before distributing to the other residents.  Today was our first look at the final draft of September/October issue.  The issue is a fun read and full of random information and trivia, such as various holidays and upcoming events in Chicagoland.  Since this has been ongoing for a few years, they had to stretch their imagination to find out novel days, for example, I did not know that October 20^th is also known as ‘Sweetest Day’, which is Fall’s version of Valentine’s Day.  Some of the other things that are usually in the issue are an interview with a staff member at Lakeview, a book review on something that Gwen and some of the residents have been reading and a restaurant review. 

This issue's restaurant review was on ‘Panera Cares’, one of the four Panera Bread locations in the US to implement a unique program.  The following is an excerpt from the issue: “The purpose of this place is to feed anyone who comes in, regardless of economic status.  You pay what you want.  You either make a monetary donation for your food or you volunteer for one hour.  The point is to address the issue of hunger in our neighborhood.”  Panera Cares website says “What do we do at Panera Cares® community cafes?  We feed people.  We uplift.  We restore dignity.  We make you feel welcome.  We fill bellies AND self-esteem.  We care.  Why do we do this?  Because we believe that everyone deserves a dignified dining experience in an uplifting environment regardless of the means.  It’s as simple as that.  This is our way of sharing in the responsibility and making a difference in the world we all share.”

Like I said... heroism is everywhere. 

All done!

The final activity of the evening was solving a word search puzzle together.  This was quite exciting and to some extent a bit competitive.  The idea was to search for words on your copy and then yell out the location once you found it.  Then all of us would mark it on the page and search for another one.  Everyone wanted to ensure that they got as many words as possible and thus were concentrating hard.  All of us were totally engaged and I had a great time.  Only at the end, after we had finished it, did I realize how the time had flown by.  It was one of the most entertaining evenings that I have had in a long time and I was extremely pleased to have come.  I promised the others that I would return soon and as Gwen handed out the remaining cookies to them, it became apparent how much she meant to these people.  I never heard anyone thank her, but they didn't need to.  She has become a part of their family, and while being taken for granted is usually considered to be a bad thing, in her case she has earned that right. 

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy