Volunteer work pays off
Donating time can be more than a résumé-builder, students say
By Lisa Petr Special to the Kansan
It seemed as if Barbara Drumm was running into a brick wall when she began to look for experience in occupational therapy.
"The difference in attitude was amazing," Drumm said. "Every place I called had a hundred things that I could do to help out."
Instead of giving up, Drumm, St. Louis senior, grabbed her telephone book and called local nursing homes. What she found broadened her horizons.
Hospitals, research centers and rehabilitation offices seemed to want to hire only interns, which often are required to hold a degree.
Drumm decided to volunteer on a weekly basis at Brandon Woods Retirement Community, 1501 Inverness Dr. Brandon Woods groups residents into three levels depending on how much fulltime care they need. Drumm's responsibilities included assisting the staff's fulltime occupational therapist in the health care wing and simply talking with the residents living independently.
Mayris Reed, who works in the independent living wing of Brandon Woods, said residents responded to anyone genuinely interested in them not just visiting to complete a project. Reed also said that the elderly people at Brandon Woods were energized by the younger people who visited.
Drumm said talking to people and reaching out to them was a big part of what she did. "A lot of the time, I just go room to room and say 'hi' or ask about the pictures on their walls. It gets kind of personal talking to them. It makes me look forward to going back."
"It is someone there doing something different. All they want is touch, concern and empathy, which is what we all want, anyway," Reed said.
In addition to volunteering at Brandon Woods, Drumm also is one of two coordinators for the Lawrence Catholic Center's CARE program. CARE stands for Catholics Actively Reaching out to the Elderly, a group of about 30 Lawrence residents who are interested in interacting with people in retirement homes. Attendance
varies weekly.
Kelli Brungardt, Garden Plains junior said that about eight students helped at the nursing homes regularly.
"We play bingo with them on Thursday nights, and they just can't say enough times how glad they are to see us and what a difference we make in their lives," Brungardt said. "It is their one chance a week that they don't have to worry about other people's problems or about taking medications."
Laurie Eck, Wichita senior, also sees the difference a volunteer can make. Eck, who will attend the University of Kansas Medical Center next fall, has volunteered at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Leavenworth for several years.
Eck said volunteer work was just as important as formal internships because, in addition to gaining experience in a particular field, volunteers also learned to see people as humans and not as a project.
Drumm agreed that volunteering could not be effective if it was used just as a résumé builder.
"Acceptance to medical school is based on a number of things. It is not all volunteer work. When I applied to KU's Med school, I had a 3.7 GPA and over 300 hours and I still didn't get in," Drumm said. "It would have been really depressing if I had only volunteered for that one reason."
"All that these people see day-in and
"All that these people see day-in and day-out are doctors, nurses and boring people. They never see younger people. They love it when we visit."
Kelli Brungardt
Garden Plains junior
day-out are doctors, nurses and boring people. They never see younger people. They love it when we visit," Brungardt said. "And it's mutual. I get a lot out of it, and I know they do. You really make a difference."
November 5,1996 The Hill
Community Outreach
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