DUNNVILLE—Since March, the Lanting sisters have gone to Edgewater Gardens Long-Term Care one evening a week to volunteer their time with the residents.
“I’ve thought about being a nurse since like Grade 1,” said Theressa Lanting, who is currently in Grade 12. She wanted to volunteer in the healthcare field, but didn’t want to go by herself because at the time she couldn’t drive – however, her older sister, Sophia Lanting, could.
“So I made her come with me,” Theressa said with a laugh.
“I did have interest in being a nurse as well,” Sophia added; she’s now in her first year at university, working on a degree in nursing.
“Originally, we were going to try to volunteer at (Haldimand War Memorial Hospital), but we weren’t of age, so they recommended for us to come here” to Edgewater instead, Sophia said.
Even though Theressa is considering a switch to studying agriculture, both sisters enjoy their weekly visits to the long-term care home.
And while some students are scrambling in their last year of high school to complete their mandatory 40 hours of community volunteering for graduation, Theressa said that was never the case for her: “I have my hours, and I don’t want to do this because of a duty. It’s fun, honestly.”
Sophia agreed.
“I like assisting the residents and just making their life a little easier,” she said.
The pair arrive in time to help with the evening meal; if any residents are unable to feed themselves, the Lantings will assist them. After, they help with cleaning up, and then they’ll spend time with the residents.
Theressa said, “It could be just a simple card game; it could be going for a walk in the garden, singing some songs. We just help with whatever they’re doing; we just socialize with the people here.”
Sophia added they’ll sometimes help porter people to their rooms, to the dining hall, to activities, etc.
Theressa enjoys getting to know the residents, and them getting to know her: “They don’t have much to do during the day, so it’s fun to be maybe a tiny bright spot in someone’s life.”
Because they do get to know the residents personally, it can be hard when there’s a death.
Sophia said, “If there’s been someone at the table that you usually help with, when they pass away, it is really sad and it’s hard when that happens.”
Theressa said it’s also sad when a resident’s abilities start to diminish. For example, she said one of the residents at Edgewater is someone they already know from their church, but his memory is slipping: “Sometimes he’ll remember us and sometimes he just won’t remember at all.”
She said when she started volunteering, it was especially surprising to see “how young some of the people are.”
Whatever a person’s reasons for becoming a resident of Edgewater or any other long-term care facility, it is important to remember that it is their home, said Judy O’Neill, Director of Recreation Therapy at Edgewater. She said volunteers – particularly youths – are asked to “behave in a respectful, mature manner and follow the dress code” when visiting.
O’Neill said volunteers are also asked to commit to a minimum of one year.
“We do this for various reasons: it offers greater opportunity to develop meaningful relationships; it takes time to train volunteers and we would like to see a return on the investment of our time and effort; and it gives the student an opportunity to develop a specific skill set related to their responsibilities,” which can include things like being mealtime partners, doing manicures for residents, program assistance, going on outings, facilitating games, etc.
Whatever role they’re fulfilling, O’Neill said every effort is made to ensure it’s a good fit for the volunteer.
“People volunteer for different reasons; some feel they have something they want to share with others, some need to be busy or may live alone and they appreciate the connection with other people, some are looking for vocational experience, etc. I find that when individuals state their volunteer experience is successful, it is because they have been matched with something they enjoy doing (personal interest or strength), they get a good orientation to the home, they are matched with a specific group of residents, and they stay long enough to develop personal relationships with these residents.”
Having volunteers “enhances resident engagement in activities outside of care and residents enjoy meeting new people in the community.”
That said, volunteering at a long-term care home isn’t for everyone.
“Don’t push a student to volunteer if they are not interested in working with the elderly. Students who feel forced into a situation do not engage with residents or the placement,” O’Neill said, noting how in turn this makes the experience difficult and time consuming for the staff.
Edgewater Gardens volunteers are within the Dunnville Health Centre Volunteer Association umbrella, which also includes volunteers at the Dunnville hospital. More volunteers – both students and adults – are always needed. For more information on how to get involved, email juoneill@edgewaterltc.ca or call 905-774-2206.
