This week we debriefed on the LGBT community center leg day. We came to the conclusion that the center has a close knit community. It was nice to hear that some of the people that go to the center travel a bit to be there because they have found their community in the center. For the rest of class, we split off into our HAP groups to finalize things. After weeks of planning and reaching out to hair and beauty schools and heard nothing from them, we decided to change our event to a wellness day and provide face masks, nail bar, self massage bar, coloring bar, and clothing booth.
The event turned out better than expected on Saturday! We had many clothing donations from Casa de Manana and jewelry donations from the professors. We had over 100 seniors stop by and they each left the event with a happier attitude and mood while they left us with their stories and worries. I was mostly volunteering at the nail bar, painting the nails of the seniors. There was one senior in particular, Esther, who was telling me about how she started her job as a caretaker a few years ago and how stressful and mentally draining it is. She is originally from the Philippines and she used to work as a nurse. However, when she came here, she could not practice as a nurse. We discussed her life back home and her caretaker job now. She told me that she absolutely loved to pamper herself when she had the time before being a caretaker, but the last few years she could not do so because she puts others before herself. She was very thankful for our services and thankful for the time we spend to interact with them. She reminded me of my mom because my mom takes care of toddlers at a daycare and I know that she had to make so many sacrifices and put others before herself, including me and my siblings. This makes me appreciate these nurturing people, who devote their time and job to care for others. Overall though, the event was a big hit that we were able to give away almost all clothing items, jewelry, and nail polishes. Through these services, we touched the lives of many seniors today, but they also touched our lives with their resilience, motivation, and happiness.
The event turned out better than expected on Saturday! We had many clothing donations from Casa de Manana and jewelry donations from the professors. We had over 100 seniors stop by and they each left the event with a happier attitude and mood while they left us with their stories and worries. I was mostly volunteering at the nail bar, painting the nails of the seniors. There was one senior in particular, Esther, who was telling me about how she started her job as a caretaker a few years ago and how stressful and mentally draining it is. She is originally from the Philippines and she used to work as a nurse. However, when she came here, she could not practice as a nurse. We discussed her life back home and her caretaker job now. She told me that she absolutely loved to pamper herself when she had the time before being a caretaker, but the last few years she could not do so because she puts others before herself. She was very thankful for our services and thankful for the time we spend to interact with them. She reminded me of my mom because my mom takes care of toddlers at a daycare and I know that she had to make so many sacrifices and put others before herself, including me and my siblings. This makes me appreciate these nurturing people, who devote their time and job to care for others. Overall though, the event was a big hit that we were able to give away almost all clothing items, jewelry, and nail polishes. Through these services, we touched the lives of many seniors today, but they also touched our lives with their resilience, motivation, and happiness.