WOOHOO! It's Spring at Greenwood!

Sunday, March 30th 2025

Today went even more amazing than yesterday did! I was a little bit worried that the volunteers might not show up, or they might be late, but I couldn't have been more wrong!

I arrived early (to set up) at Greenwood Assisted Living with my box of cookie decorating supplies, and was pleasantly surprised to find one volunteer who had been early to help set up! His name is Milo, and I took him to the activity room to introduce him to the guests.

He immediately started to interact with them in an outgoing way, which is something I always look for. I explained to him how I want the volunteers to each partner with a resident so that every resident gets attention. So he helped me move residents and chairs around so that everybody was spread out. Then, I asked each guest to say their name so that they could meet each other. I explained to Milo that two of the guests argue a lot, so we would need to seperate them. Once we did so, the arguments stopped and both guests were happy again.

The other volunteers started to arrive, and we set up the table with coloring sheets and cookies. I appointed every volunteer to a resident just like yesterday, and walked around helping everybody. Nikash was partnered with a nice lady (middle image), and Catherine was partnered with a resident named Jack (middle image).

I made sure to remind the volunteers that the residents have dementia, so they will need to provide extra assistance and repeat instructions clearly. Despite it being their first time doing anything like this, all the volunteers blew me away. They followed instructions, they held great conversations with the residnets, and they were so kind and outgoing. Milo had his hands full, as he was partnered with four residents rather than one, but he did it with so much ease that I couldn't believe it was his first time coming here. He even remembered all of their names (which took me weeks to do).

I explained to Nikash that his partner was non-verbal, and would need extra care. He did a great job coaching her through it, and drew a heart for her to color in. Then, when he got a new partner, he treated her with the same care that he treated the first one with. Catherine was so sweet with Jack, and asked him lots of engaging questions to make sure he was present in the activity, which can be very difficult. They were all naturals at interacting with the residents, and we ended up staying an extra 20 minutes because of the great conversations we were all having with the residents.

I was delighted when two little kids walked in (with their parents), and asked me if they could decorate cookies! I happily gave them cookies so that they could join in on the fun, which just goes to show that there is no age that doesn't want to have fun! Their father played music on his guitar, and all the residents and volunteers were singing and clapping along. We all had so much fun.

Overall, it was a great day and I was so proud at the volunteers' amazing work. I hope to see them again at out next activities!

💌 About Hearts & Hands

Founded by students, Hearts and Hands creates intergenerational connections between young people and older adults. Volunteers lead activities, write letters, and spend time with seniors in assisted living and memory care. Discover how Hearts & Hands is making a difference: hhmarin.org.