by Scott McIntyre on Monday, July 19, 2010
1About this time of year, many school-age children have one thing in common: they are making their parents crazy. A combination of mid-summer heat (or monsoons – take your pick), a declining number of organized activities and general listlessness leads to the well known distress call of bored kids: “There’s nothing to do.”
The answer might be to send your kid to the hospital.
Not for treatment, but for opportunities. Hospitals are always looking for volunteers and many have very active “volun-teen” programs. There are many pluses to hospital volunteering, particularly the lessons it teaches in responsibility, compassion and community. These lessons are valuable whether or not the young person is considering a health care career, though one of the biggest benefits of hospital volunteering is the chance to work with health care professionals.
Olivia Goodyear (left) and Beka Prull donated $350 from their lemonade stand to the hospital in Anamosa.
Most of the time in volun-teen programs, there is a minimum age requirement (typically around 14 years old). But with some guidance and a little creativity, children of all ages can find a way to get busy by giving to their hospitals. For example, a pair of young girls in Anamosa raised $350 at their lemonade stand that paid for a stove for Jones Regional Medical Center’s rehabilitation therapy department. The stove helps injured patients learn to function in their homes again.
Students in Panora made and donated more than 100 blankets to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. The blankets will be used in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
Senior softball players from Chariton High School auctioned off this quilt they created and donated the funds to Lucas County Health Center.
Players from the Chariton High School girls’ softball team made one of their home games this summer an “all-pink” event and raised $2,700 for Lucas County Health Center’s free mammogram fund. Each of the team’s players and coaches donated a handmade item that was auctioned off for the fund, including a quilt that was stitched by the team’s senior class.
And in Newton, two boys celebrated their recent birthdays in typical fashion: by having a party and collecting gifts. But instead of asking for presents for themselves, they requested that their party guests bring new and used DVDs, which were then donated to Skiff Medical Center for sick and injured children and their families to enjoy during their hospital stays. More than 30 DVDs were collected.
Talk to your local hospital. You might just find out that instead of making you crazy, your kids will make you proud this summer.
I am the Director of the activities program at Story County Medical Center, in Nevada, Iowa. We use teens to help us on van outtings. They push resident’s wheelchairs while we are on trips requiring 1:1 assistance. We also have used teens to take residents outdoors for fresh air and change of scenery. It is a win-win situation for both the teens and our residents who develop relationships with each other.
Earlier this summer, we were part of the Story County Nursing Home Olympics, a county wide event. We used even younger kids, in elementary school, to assist with the games; setting bowling pins, retrieving horse shoes, passing out the refreshments, etc. This is also a great learning opportunity for the kids to see that seniors remain active in nursing homes, even with disabilities.