Volunteering Can Be Fun and Rewarding

As I think I mentioned in a prior post, I joined several needlework clubs here in the Villages.  Members of one of the groups, "Fabric Fun and Crafts", visit one of the Villages Assisted Living facilities once a month to lead residents in a craft activity.  This month I joined this outing for the first time. 

Our group leader obtained materials to decorate small cloth bags for Spring.  We spent most of our meeting time on Saturday preparing the materials to make it easier for the residents do work with.  We wrote Spring on the bags in glitter glue and put beads, buttons, and pipe cleaners in individual baggies. 

When we arrived on Monday afternoon, several ladies joined us for some fun.  Their hands were not steady and sometimes they had trouble connecting their thoughts, so we sat down and helped them decorate the bags.  One of the women started to sing, so we sang along with her.   They had a lot of fun and were very pleased with their finished bags.  It was a fun hour for us too.

3 of the Fidget Quilts delivered on Monday

One of our group projects is to sew "Fidget Quilts" for Alzheimer patients.  These are small lap quilts made with materials of varying colors and textures, decorated with fringe, zippers, bows, beads, etc.  They are used to give these people something to do with their hands when they get agitated.  We brought the first four of these that our group made with us to give to the woman who is in charge of activities for the Memory Care unit.   She was very happy to receive these and her eyes were full of tears.   We found out there are currently 18 residents in the Memory Care  unit, so we are going to be busy making at least 14 more.

This was such a fun afternoon.  It was really satisfying to see the happiness on the faces of these women as we worked with them and the appreciation of the staff.  This is just one of the many opportunities for helping others around here.  There are food banks, groups that make things for newborns and the many homeless in the area, church groups, groups that put together packages for the troupes, hospital volunteers, and volunteers at the local schools.  With so many retirees here, many of them looking to give back, we probably have one of the largest pools of vounteers in the country.  There really is something for everyone in this realm too.