Volunteer experience you have had

One part of my extracurricular activities right from elementary school was volunteering. It was something that almost everyone in my community did and, as kids, we had a chance to take part in as well. The volunteer jobs I did in high school made an impact on getting into university and the volunteer jobs I did in university had a part in getting my first job.

The first thing I remember helping with was at a nursing home. My group of friends and I had a choice of either that, picking up garbage or cleaning up a community center. I remember being terrified, as a 10-year-old, going into this big building that smelled like a mix between an old restaurant and a hospital.

We were told that we would be pitching in around the main areas of the nursing home in the activity area or outside in the small courtyard they had. I remember going into the activity room and seeing 8 to 10 elderly people spread out around the room. I was actually kind of scared of them and wasn’t sure how to talk to them. One of the staff took me to one table where some ladies were playing a card game called Skip-bo. She sat me down and I started playing. When the ladies saw me their faces lit up and I soon found out there was nothing to be scared of. They were easy to talk to and seemed grateful for the company. We played a few games and were chatting all the while. Before I knew it, the time was up and it was time to go home.

For the next few weeks I returned to the nursing home and got to hear some wonderful stories about the lives of the people living there. They had experienced so much and yet stayed so cheerful and humble. One lady told me about the journey her family made from living in the Ukraine with almost no money and then moving to Canada and experiencing their first cold winter there. She said they would heat up stones in a fire, put them in this metal box and then put them in their beds to keep them warm. I remember returning the next week to visit her only to be informed that she had passed away in her sleep a few nights after I saw her.

I remember that the lady who told me this didn’t have a look of sadness on her face but a peaceful one. In that place, death was a regular part of life and as many of them were nearing their last months or years, they seemed to have a different perspective on it. It wasn’t something to be feared but instead accepted.

Throughout the years I’ve been able to visit other nursing homes and even see my own grandparents get older and pass away. I learned that there was nothing to fear from getting old but much to learn about the lives of some wonderful people.

Laura

Vocabulary

extracurricular (adj.) – (of activities or subejcts) not part of the usual school or college course
nursing home (n) – a place where very old people who are ill live and receive medical treatment and care
pitch in (phr. v) – to join in a task or activity
all the while (phrase) – for the entire period of time; continually