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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1988)
l\J A ■+ C :M. ^>rvv2-s ov^ tt '\JL/v\0'p S'VSOO ' \A\V’ V-*V \ ci.-E»s»v\ Q-\ s\ ' x^>r^^s>\ \T3\jiotvT3\jL p>\jna 3^\2^S V\^OC\ -&\^\ VA\0( S\ClOS)Ci SJIOUL1 S\/,, ^_/v_»v-»u C7i_i_tws jk.y'cy^ SaUT3/V\ 014/V\ ApOC\3XJUOS SA\2/V\\\3 Volunteering as a way ofiife by Staci Finch ^ *ypical college student at Texas A&M probably comes into contact with several hunaered people each day, most of whom are probably under the age of 25. However, there is a world outside of the A&M campus, believe it or not. In Bryan and College Station there are families with small chilaren and teenagers and. of course, senior citizens. S' mior citizens make up an evei growing percentage of the population in the United States. More and more people are realizing that life doesn't end with retirement. In Bryan- College Station many senior citizens are very active, especially in the area of volunteer work. One of the best avenues of volunteer work for senior citizens is the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program. It serves as a central agency through which senior citizens find out about the volunteer needs of Bryan- Coliege Station and the surrounding area. Lorine Gould. RSVP volunteer coordinator for the area, says the local RSVP center has about 400 volunteers. “We were organized in the 70s ’ Gould says. “We place people over 60 in volunteer positions throughout the community.” George Winstein and his band, “Medicare Jazz,” play hymns and songs from the 30s, 40s and 50s to entertain nursing home residents. Gould sa^s the center works with non-profit organizations to find out their volunteer needs and then tries to fill those needs. "We get volunteers in several ways. ’’ she says. “Our best form of recruitment is friends of members already in the organization. We go to nutrition sites and senior Phyllis Hughes gives her time to residents of the Brazos Valley Geriatric Center, making sure they have fun. cemers. We also publicize in the paper and make presentations to local service clubs.” Gould says these presentations are only to solicit volunteers, and that the organization does not support any political candidates. “We don’t contribute to any campaign.” she says. “We are federally funded, and we get matching grants from state and local organizations, but we aren’t tied to any of them politically. We are strictly a volunteer referral service. ” Many senior citizens do volunteer work at the local hospitals. Marsha Herring, volunteer director at Humana Hospital in College Station, says the senior volunteer group, the Sunshine Auxilary, is ihvaluable to the hospital. “The Sunshine Auxilary has been in existence for 11 Vz years,” she says, “and they work in primarily three areas. Volunteers work at the information desk, own their own gift shop and also work in patient care. " Herring says the volunteers are very helpful in the last area. “The volunteers provide that extra TLC the nurses don't always have time for,” she says. “They also talk with the patients’ families. ” Herring says the volunteers have an advantage being senior citizens. ‘These people have the time, the patience and a true willingness to help the patient. " she says. “They also feel like they are really contributing something to the facility where , . they are volunteering. ” _ Herring says the volunteers average 10.000 hours of volunteer service each year. “It takes a real committment to volunteer.” she says. “We look for people with a true willingness to give.” Volunteer Phyllis Hughes is an excellent example of willingness to give. She has been a volunteer for seven and a half years at the Brazos Valley Geriatric Center. “I give exercise (lessons) and one-to-one counseling, " she says “Sometimes I work with groups, and I work a varied nurriber of hours a week. ” Hughes was born in England and lived there for 32 years. After moving to Texas she worked as a school librarian in Navasota. She says she started volunteering when she retired and moved to College Station. “I wanted to do something worthwile in my life. ” she says. Hughes' volunteer work certainly seems to have been worthwhile. Last year she was recognized as the top volunteer on the local, regional and national level by the American Restaurant Association which, aside from restaurant involvement, owns 162 nursing homes. Hughes says she likes her work at the Geriatric Center. "Everyone has accepted me and treated me very well there, "she says. Hughes says working at the center has not always been easy, and she could write a book about all the difficult patients she has worked with. “Once we had a paitent who . laid in theposition, angry, at the world. ” she says. “I thought she would never come out of it, but eventually she did.” Hughes says it is hard to see some of the patients with terminal illnesses. “It’s sad to see some of the patients who are dying.' she says. “At first I would say ‘there but for the grace of God go I.' But you learn to accept some of the things after a while. ” Hughes says the most important thing about volunteering is making sure patients have fun. “The patients get tired of talking about their problems. ” she says. “They just really want to laugh and have a good time.” Another volunteer who contributes a lot to the community is George Winstein. He has been a volunteer for eight years and plays with a group called “Medicare Jazz. ” “I play accordian. trumpet, saxophone, clarinet and a little bit of trombone, ” he says. “We play at the various rest homes in the area, and also for various churches and service organizations. ” The 72-year-old former member of the U.S. Coast Guard says he has been interested in music for a long time. “I started playing the piano when I was five years old, ” he says. “After a short while I picked up the trumpet and started taking lessons on that when I was ten. I’ve been playing it ever since." Winstein attended Texas A&M in 1935-37. but then transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. While at A&M he played in the marching and concert bands, and also in the orchestra. It was during his playing days in the A&M orchestra that he met his wife to be. “I was playing on the bandstand. ” he says, “and this pretty young girl was in front of us. and she winked at me. I made the mistake of winking back and we ve been married for 46 years. Winstein says he really enjoys playing for the people in the rest homes. “The best part is playing the old songs they can relate to, ” he says. “That's why we call our music ‘Medicare Jazz.' We play music from the 30’s. 40's and 50’s, and also a lot of hymns.” Winstein says he began volunteering after retirement from the Coast Guard. “When you retire, you just can’t sit and listen to a rocking , fhw sqyeaK.The says, ‘.‘I.hqa .