Journal

__Saturday, February 26:__ My first day at Harston Hall was overall enjoyable and fun. I volunteered from 11am to 2pm. with Carolyn Eaton in the Activity Department and we played catch with a beach ball with the patients there. Another woman who works there, Pattie, asked me what my research topic was and when I told her it was on Alzheimer’s disease, she told me a little about how the people who work there handle patients with Alzheimer's. She said that there used to be a man at Harston Hall who, every day, thought he was at the bank. So, eventually, they humored him and printed up fake money. After talking with Pattie, Carolyn and I took the patients on the third floor down to lunch. At lunch I had the opportunity to interact with everyone, because I got to take their orders and learn their names. Everyone there was very sweet and funny. Three hours went by surprisingly fast, and I'm looking forward to coming back and hopefully I'll remember everyone's names.

__Saturday March 5:__ Today I only volunteered from 11-12 pm and it was more of a relaxing day. They did not have their lunch buffet, but they’re having it on Sunday, so I’m going to help out with that. However, today was nice, because I got the opportunity to talk with a woman who was 97 and remembered so much about the Great Depression but did not remember that she could not walk. In a way, it was sad, but it was nice to talk to her. Also, a woman I met last week remembered me and we talked about her grandchildren a lot.

__Sunday, March 6:__ My experience today was similar to last Saturday. I volunteered from 11:30-1:30 during lunch at Harston Hall. Already, I have a few “favorites” but I’m not entirely sure if they remember me, so I’ve just been going with the flow. They definitely appreciate having younger people there and they ask me about my age all the time. It’s adorable. Many of them call me “sweetie” and “darling.” At lunch, some individuals won’t remember what they ordered, even though everyone’s name goes with lunch, but they’ll insist that the person who’s sitting next to them has their lunch. My mom says the same thing happens to her at the preschool she teaches at. So far, I’ve completed six hours of volunteer work and it’s going by quickly.

__Saturday March 12:__ Again, I volunteered from 11am-2pm. From 11-11:30 I played Bingo with the residents on the third floor. Then, lunch was served from 11:30-2pm and I got a chance to get to know some of the people there a little better. One man, David, definitely remembers me, because when I came downstairs, he said, “here comes our volunteer!” David is really funny because he’s the “Queen Bee” of Harston Hall. At lunch, he pretends that his table is extra exclusive and it reminds me of “Mean Girls.” After lunch, I helped clean up and I went home.

__Saturday March 26:__ Today was Barbara and Jean’s birthday, so at lunch they had a cake and we all sang “Happy Birthday” to them; it was really nice. Before lunch, I spent about half an hour upstairs just talking to people, mostly about their families. Lunch was fairly typical, everyone is nice and polite. I complimented one woman on her necklace and she said, “you’re cute.” Carolyn was espeically happy that I was there, since there are usually a lot of people at lunch and there are not enough people in the activities department to help her. So, she gave me a job application and told me that I needed to stay with her until I go to college. She’s a very funny woman, and her two children came to Harston Hall today. I think the people there like when children come and talk to them. One man did not remember me at first, but I told him my name again, and when a woman came and sat down, he told her, “Her name’s Eliza,” and I was pretty happy about that, because he’s really nice and I want him to remember me, even though I know it’s hard. I volunteered from 11am-2pm and I have 12 hours done so far.

__Saturday, April 9: __Today, I volunteered from 11:00am to 2:00pm. From 11:00-11:30 I worked on the third floor with Carolyn, where I helped two ladies with a puzzle they were working on. The one woman only said about three sentences in the same pattern, but the other was a bit more coherent. Then, I went downstairs with Carolyn and I helped out with lunch. Everyone there is friendly and I can tell they appreciate the company. I have completed 15 hours of volunteer work. I am also planning on working at Harston Hall over the summer, because I have really connected with the people there.

__Saturday, April 16: __My volunteer experience was similar to my experience the previous week. I volunteered from 11:00-2:00 and spent the first half hour on the second floor this time, helping people get ready to go downstairs for lunch and talking with them. I helped take lunch orders and cleaned up after lunch. The woman I usually have discussions with remembers our previous conversations about books and she told me that she had just finished the book I was asking her about and she would even lend it to me, which I thought was very nice of her. Overall, the residents there appreciate the company and so do the workers and I plan on doing my LEEP hours at Harston Hall and I met with my mentor to discuss my mentor evaluation form and my LEEP forms. I have 18 hours of volunteer work completed.

__Thursday, May 5: __Today Niki and I met with Stacey Bergmann, who is new to Harston Hall, to discuss our LEEP program. She also gave us volunteer handbooks and talked to me about my job application for the summer as well as my experience volunteering at Harston Hall. Overall, the meeting was productive and lasted from about 3:00-3:30pm. I was glad I got the chance to meet with Stacey, since she wants to set up a positive relationship between Harston Hall and Springfield High School.

__Saturday, May 7: __Today I took pictures with Carolyn and the residents at Harston Hall. It was fun and the residents enjoyed getting their pictures taken as well as looking at my prom pictures. I volunteered from 12:00pm to 2:00pm and have compledted 20 hours of volunteer work. In addition, I helped with the lunch buffet and cleaning up after lunch.