Final Video Reflection on Service Learning at Best Friends

Hope you guys enjoy hearing about some of my favorite aspects of Best Friends, but also some of the challenges I've faced throughout the semester.  Enjoy! 

Thanks for watching! 

- Madalyn 

A Morning Visit!

Some of the beautiful pinecones the ladies painted! 

With the end of my first semester here at UK approaching, final assignments and exams are becoming more frequent.  Trying to accomplish everything on my to-do list has been leaving me stressed and overwhelmed to say the least.  I have learned that time is precious, especially during finals.  However, volunteering at Best Friends Day Center makes that sacrifice of time all worth it in the end.  Even though I could have been writing a paper, practicing my speech, or studying for a test during that rainy Tuesday morning, I spent it painting pinecones, sharing laughs, and building relationships with people I have grown to love.  Although they won’t remember that morning, our time together impacted them (and me!) in that moment, and that’s all I could really hope for.  

The "Thankful Tree" Painting 

Since I normally go to Best Friends on Friday afternoon with a group of other students, going alone early on a Tuesday morning allowed me to see the day center in a completely different light.  There were significantly less friends there on this particular morning than there normally are in the afternoon.  I saw familiar faces, but also quite a few new ones as well.  It was a much more intimate setting since there were only three or four friends all morning.  It was also all women, so we had a fun “girls” morning — full of        painting, decorating, and crafting! 

A friend writes that she is most thankful for family.

We started off the morning sharing some mid-morning snacks (their favorites are orange sugar wafers and crackers) and some lemonade.  We then moved on to the craft part of the morning.  Since I visited the week before Thanksgiving, all of the friends were collectively working on a “thankful” tree that other volunteers and employees had painted.  Each friend could paint a puzzle piece and then write down what they are most thankful for at this point in their life.  I worked with a lovely woman who chose to paint her puzzle piece pink, saying she was thankful for her family.  Other friends had chose to write things like “life,” “everything,” and “having my mother, father, and sister.”   

Another painted pinecone - this friend
 wanted hers to look like a Christmas tree! 

Afterwards, I helped the other friends paint pinecones to help decorate the facility’s Christmas tree.  We also worked on making little beaded wreaths from pipe cleaners and some donated beads.  These are all great activities for those suffering with irreversible memory loss because the tasks are so hands-on.  Even the women who claimed to not be very good at painting were fantastic once they got the brush in their hand!  Muscle memory is truly an amazing thing.  

Holidays were certainly in the air at Best Friends Day Center!  After crafting, it was time for me to leave.  During those two hours at Best Friends, how many times do you think I thought of my to-do list?  Of school work and finals?  Not one time.  Spending time with my friends at the Day Center always uplifts my spirits and allows me to take my mind off of my stressors and simply focus on what is important — people.  I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to volunteer at Best Friends this semester!  Can’t wait for the visits to come!  

Stay tuned for more posts.  Thanks!  

~ Also, all of the pictures you see above are actual pictures from the Best Friends Day Center.  Although we are unable to take photos with the friends, I got special permission to take photos of the artwork and some of the facility. Hope you enjoy!  ~ 

- Madalyn 

Getting to Know My New Best Friends

I have had an absolute blast the two times I’ve visited Best Friends Day Center. I’ve really been able to get a feel for what this organization is about: fun. We always start out with some kind of game or fun activity. 

The last time I was there, everyone played “Two Truths and One Lie”. This is when someone gives three facts, two being true and one being a lie. The goal is to trick everyone of what the lie is. So what happened was three volunteers were chosen to play, and I was one of them. So I stood up and made my three statements: 

1) I have 2 brothers.

2) I’m from St. Louis.

3) I’ve never had a pet dog. 

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Everyone asked me tons of questions.

“What are your brothers’ names?”, “What’s there to do in St. Louis?”, “How old are your brothers?”, “Why did you never have a pet dog?” 

After I answered their questions, they decided that my lie was that I had never had a dog. They were wrong, and everyone was so shocked. 

This game was SO fun to play with everyone, and they kind of got an idea of who I was and where I came from. It really opened it up and everything became a little more comfortable. 

We then went on to play a jeopardy game, sing some songs, and eat ice cream. My favorite thing about volunteering at Best Friends is when everyone sings songs together. 

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You can tell who is very confident about their voice because they like to sing REALLY LOUD (and some are actually really good singers), some like to DANCE to the songs, and some are little more shy and they very quietly sing along. As of now, I’ve only been to Best Friends Day Center twice, but I can’t wait to go back.

- Mollie :)