Card Games at Volunteering

So for just over a year now, I've been volunteering every Saturday on the wards at my local children's hospital. I might have briefly mentioned somewhere in my blog that I'm a volunteer, however I haven't yet reflected in depth about my experiences and I think it's important for myself to look back on it. In doing so, I hope maybe a few others will find this useful, too.

The process of organizing a volunteering placement can be quite laborious and difficult to organize. And maybe when you do start you might not learn something immediately from your first day. At the same time the organizing involved, making the phones calls, researching and finding the time to apply is a transferable skill in itself. Organizing mine took the best part of three months, from the application form, to CRB checks, occupational health forms and inductions - but stick to it, it can be worth it! 

I originally begun my volunteering placement way back in January 2014 and myself admitted I probably wouldn't stick to it for any more than six months. This was also the minimum period of time they also requested for me to volunteer. My plan was to probably change and find a new placement elsewhere at a different hospital/clinical setting and continue this cycle, stacking up almost a "portfolio of experiences". Later on however, I began to realize the importance of sticking to something for more than the minimum and instead of seeing it at "ticking a box", I began to enjoy and learn from my experiences more than anticipated and decided to do something important: commit! 

Yesterday was a Saturday, so that meant in the early morning, I was volunteering. Later on in the day however, I'd also have a shift at work from 3pm - 8pm. I'd taken the previous four weeks off work as paid holiday and used my weekends to get back into studying since Semester two of university started. Quite simply, I wasn't looking forward to returning back to work! I figured I'd be extra tired having just finished volunteering.. My swipe card to access the ward had also stopped working so it wasn't the best start to the day, having to wait five mins until a cleaner would swoop by and open it for me. But something lovely happened..

I usually start off my volunteering with like a mini "ward round", and generally just greeting all the new patients, letting them know of my presence if they need anything. I've had requests from simple cups of tea, milkshakes or a simple chat, to one patient's parent asking if I could sort out a new wheelchair for their daughter. Obviously I have my limitations! I also ask the nurses if they need any help with errands, from things like making the beds, putting laundry away, ordering the afternoon lunches/suppers and etc. Nothing spectacular here!

But yesterday I met a very sweet patient. She was all by herself as her parents weren't with her. She also looked awfully bored (Jeremy Kyle on the TV screen, so *yawn*) so I thought I'd say hello. We spent the best part of an hour playing cards, from Go Fish! to Snap (I don't know many card games, forgive me!) and simply just talked. Talked about school, what she wanted to do when she grew up (a nurse) and she asked questions about me, too. We didn't at once discuss why she was in hospital, and I think that was the most important thing. She looked like any other happy, smiley girl despite the cannula attached to her arm or the doctors at her bedside. And I think that's why it's crucial for volunteers and their contribution in hospitals, they can bring with them a sense of normality to an experience which might not be considered normal. I was sad when my shift was over and my time with her had to come to an end, but we left on good terms (in the form of a hug!). I felt happy that I'd possibly have made a small tiny difference to her stay.

Anywhoo, I went about my day with an extra spring in my step :) My work shift later on was better than I anticipated, simply because of my feelings on volunteering in the morning! Moral of the story, volunteering is definitely worth it if you're thinking about it, and more often what you take away from it is much more than you expected from the outset!

Lots of love, x