To the editor:
April is Volunteer Month. What’s Volunteer Month? I remember as a child, my Mom was always volunteering for something. There was never a special month back then. You just did it. She felt it was our duty to help when needed. A thank you or an “I appreciated that” was all she ever accepted for helping. No money, balloons or hoopla was needed for her. Mom’s now in the Veterans Home and most of the CNAs there do the best they can. I hope they do in all the homes. If they can’t do their best, they should find another career.
The people that are residents are there because we couldn’t give them the best care, alone, with us at home. It was going to take more than one person to help them through this time in their lives.
Whenever they need something, the CNA will say, “I’ll be right back”. This could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes! Our folks deserve better than this!
All the homes are like this. Sometimes only the CNA with a Hoyer lift can help. Other times, all residents want is a drink of water, attention, love, a friendly face and a smile, or maybe someone to notice them and care. We can all provide this.
The CNAs are really busy and don’t take the time, or maybe have the time, to do these simple things. Please, if you have a little time in your busy lives, go to the nursing home and “volunteer”. Even a few precious moments would be appreciated more than you would ever know.
If you don’t have a specific time that you can do this, that’s OK. Whenever you can go would be good. If you’d like to set something up to go at a specific time, call Karen Page at the Veterans Home or whomever runs this program at the other homes. They can help you decide when it would be best for you and the residents to visit.
Go in and visit them one-on-one and help them know that they are not forgotten, that their lives were special and that they aren’t really alone. They gave to us so now let’s give back to them.
No one wants to feel alone and abandoned. Go in and give them a smile, read to them, talk with them. You’d be surprised what stories that they have to share with you.
Volunteering means doing something nice for someone else without any strings attached. Just be careful. They might attach a string to your heart. Don’t be afraid of that, though, you may gain something very special.
Don’t forget, if you have kind, considerate children or pets, they can also put a smile on everyone’s faces. There is always a little time to give back.
Lebanon, N.H.
