I always thought volunteering would require a lot of effort and drudgery.

Today I spent the afternoon playing dice.

The first day of my Volunteer Odyssey took place at the Ave Maria Home in Bartlett.  It’s a long-term healthcare community for those who need assisted living or home care services.  Assisted living residents require the most attention, but also end up spending the most time alone. They love company, and, apparently, dice.

After a quick tour of the facilities it was time for Bingo! Because many of the residents have some difficulty getting around, I was in charge of passing out prizes.  It’s both comforting and slightly disturbing that even in our later years we still find ourselves in cliques – the chatty group, the serious group, the leaders, the followers.

Samantha Hicks, a Volunteer Odyssey success story who now works at the Home, stopped by to say hello.

Bingo was a hit, but the real games came after. A small group stayed in the activities area to play a dice game called Farkle.  I was invited to play with the group of lovely ladies and one fine gentleman.

The game plays a bit like Yahtzee.  All the ladies were happy to teach me and gave tips on the best ways to play. I had a bit of beginners luck and told them they were letting the newbie win. They laughed, but my luck ran thin in the second round.

While we were playing, the ladies gossiped a bit about others staying in assisted living. Some things never change.  I caught myself thinking it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to be living there.

Honestly, I feel like I didn’t do anything today. I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Day 1, but I did think it would be more difficult than spending some time talking to folks and playing dice.

But the Odyssey isn’t graded on a difficulty curve. It’s graded on making a difference. I guess sometimes that means cleaning a park or digging a ditch. But sometimes it just means laughing at gossip and playing Farkle.

I’m not sure what’s coming next, but so far I’ve got this volunteer thing – bring on Day 2.

I’m searching for a job where I can transition from working in news to using my skills in PR, Social Media, and Marketing.  If you know of a great fit, please send it my way: jennallmon@gmail.com

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