KW SVO: Sunnyside Long Term Care Home, operated by the region of Waterloo

The Sunnyside Long Term Care Home, operated by the region of Waterloo, is a place for older adults to live, who require some extra help to get around and do all of the things that they need to do. It is really a great place to volunteer! The residents are treated so well, the staff is very kind and the volunteers are always appreciated.

The best thing about volunteering at Sunnyside is definitely all of the people! Volunteers will get to know the seniors that they volunteer with, as well as the staff. I actually am a volunteer at Sunnyside right now, and I visit a few people, one of which is Trevor (seen in the video below). Trevor has many very amusing stories to tell me and our conversation flows easily. I enjoy my meetings with him, as well as with the other lovely ladies that I visit. The residents and staff both appreciate the volunteers very much, and it feels great to just help them out. Most of the residents at Sunnyside don’t leave the building much, so new people coming in every once in a while can really brighten up their day.

Student Volunteer Opportunities available at Sunnyside

- Friendly Visitor (involves spending time with a resident. Could mean sitting and chatting, going for a walk outside, playing a game, doing a craft, etc.)

- Transporting people to the chapel on Sunday mornings

- Transporting and aiding people to play BINGO

- Computer assistant (sits with residents and helps them to work on the computer)

- Helping out with special events and fundraisers (e.g. Walk and Roll – an annual fundraiser)*This could be a “one time” volunteer opportunity, if you are looking for that.

- Running the Gift shop or Tuck shop (using the cash register, getting retail experience)

- Bringing people to and from the Hair Salon (in the summer)

There are a few administrative positions offered at Sunnyside for those who are interested in perhaps getting some office experience, such as photocopying and mailing, but most positions do involve working with the people.

There is no required time commitment for volunteering at Sunnyside, though they do hope that you will volunteer more than just a few times. When you volunteer at Sunnyside, you form relationships with different people there and it is encouraged that you keep coming back, so that you can maintain those relationships. They’re not asking for a life commitment, but a commitment for half a year or more would probably be a good goal because of the nature of the volunteer program that Sunnyside has set up. Now, some volunteers may wish to set up a schedule, where they come in to do their job once a week on the same day every week, and that is an option. However, if you are looking for something a little bit more flexible, Sunnyside definitely offers you that option as well. For example, if you are a friendly visitor, you can volunteer whenever the resident you see is available. There are many options for scheduling your volunteer time at Sunnyside.

Most volunteers volunteer alone. A group of friends could all apply, but they would all have to do so individually. If they all became volunteers, then they could perhaps volunteer together to do certain jobs, though most positions really only need one person. There are instances though, where say a group of friends wanted to volunteer playing music once a month. They would probably not need to go through the whole application process.

To become a Sunnyside volunteer, a student must first meet with Janice, the volunteer co-ordinator. After determining that volunteering at Sunnyside would be a good fit for the student, the student must fill out an application form and get two reference forms filled out (they’re not very long – most students ask their teachers to fill them out). Then, the new volunteer would attend an orientation session.

The volunteer training is fairly quick. Once accepted, volunteers will usually have an orientation session that’s about an hour long, where they will get a tour of the facilities and learn more about how to act and communicate with the residents. Then most volunteer positions offer training on the job, so the training doesn’t really feel like training at all! There are however a few positions that require some extra training, but it doesn’t take too long!

Sunnyside volunteers do not require any previous experience, but they should be flexible people who enjoy listening and talking. Because of some illnesses, not all residents can communicate clearly, so being able to co-operate with the residents and make them feel comfortable is an important trait that volunteers should possess.

Volunteering at Sunnyside is not for everyone. Some of the residents have Dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other disabilities that makes communicating more difficult for them, so their actions or inactions could make some people uncomfortable. There are many people though, who would love volunteering at Sunnyside. There are still people who you could talk to quite normally and for those who are interested in a medical field, Sunnyside is a great introduction into learning more about the healthcare system. Some volunteers start out feeling at little uneasy at Sunnyside, but as they spend more time and learn more at Sunnyside, they start to become very comfortable with situations that they were apprehensive of before.