Volunteering with Seniors: A Whole New World

By: Aroob Qureshi

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I started volunteering with seniors almost 7 years ago. My first position was at a hospital in my community, and I was to help those in the recovery ward where the demographic was 65 and above. At first, I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into because this role was so new to me. I was not a social butterfly and as a child, I turned tomato red speaking to strangers. I knew this opportunity was going to help me get out of my comfort zone and improve my social skills.

Inside the very first room that I walked into was a lovely woman who had a very welcoming face. Her room was full of books that she was using to pass her time. She was so curious about who I was and what I was doing there that upon introducing some facts about me, I realized how involved I was with this stranger and their story. After that day I realized how much of a difference it can make to accompany those who are alone and vulnerable. I remember talking to her about her favorite books and whether we had any in common, what I was learning in school lately, and how she had a lovely view outside her window. I even ended up going back to the volunteer office to offer her some new titles which made me feel even more productive and meaningful. Every week I returned to this hospital for my volunteer shift. I was able to communicate with a new person and with every new person came a unique personality. Every person, hiding a world of special stories and memories that were waiting to be discovered upon questioning. After this opportunity, I knew that volunteering with seniors is really fun, interesting, and knowledgeable.

Flash forward to today, I still dedicate my time to volunteering with seniors in any way that I can. With every new organization that I join, I continue to build on my social, communication, and listening skills. But most importantly, I get to learn so much through the wisdom and life experiences that elders get to share with me as I unlock and discover their worlds. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, it broke my heart to see news articles on how seniors had been especially isolated due to their vulnerability. That is why I joined Connecting Seniors with Care! Ending senior isolation is something that warms my heart and truly brings me joy. During this pandemic, not only do I get to end my social isolation at home, but I get to end someone else’s.

Thus far, with my volunteer experiences with seniors, I have been able to learn so many things about life! For example, something that has stuck with me is to really appreciate my friends and family and not take them for granted. It is the hard truth but eventually, we might find ourselves alone, questioning where all that time went. So, one should cherish the present as much as one can because time will fly by.

As I navigate through my twenties, I also realized how important self-care and mental health is. It can become so easy to spiral into a world full of academics and nothing else. Volunteering with seniors provides me with an opportunity to simply do something outside of studying all day. Not only is it a super fun study break, but I also get to make use of so many skills such as being patient, open-minded, and empathetic. If you are a young reader, then I encourage you to sign up to be a volunteer because you will learn so much. Alternatively, if you are a senior, I encourage you to sign up to be paired with a volunteer if there’s a program available. Who knows, you might end up with a cool younger friend and a whole new world of stories to discover.