Service Learning Log 2-Megan Sullivan

Service Learning Log 2 - 4/19/08, 12:20-3:00ishpm
I delivered about five bags of food with Austin and Professor Bateman on Saturday, the 19th. After we arrived at Project Angel Heart, Russ went through the same volunteer orientation talk, though this time it was shorter and said with less humor, things seemed a bit tense there. While waiting for our route sheet and bags of food, I noticed the difference between this week’s volunteers compared with the previous weeks’. The volunteers that were picking up meals seemed to be volunteers that volunteer every Saturday. Russ seemed very familiar with the people doing the routes and which route they usually picked up.
We delivered the meals mostly off of Colorado Blvd. and the surrounding neighborhoods. We were unsure where the first house was, we wandered around one apartment complex stumped as to why we couldn’t find the apartment number we wanted. Luckily, we figured that we were looking for the housing complex across the street. For our first delivery, the man that answered the door was very friendly. The first thing he asked how we were doing, surprised us a little. Russ’ voice was in the back of my head reminding me not to ask the client how they were doing. However, after he had asked us, the polite response is usually to ask back. We were both a little nervous and timid, not sure of how to handle the situation. So we timidly asked how he was, which he replied to without concern. I think it all depends on the tone of voice that you are using. If you ask with a very casual, friendly tone, it’s much different than if you ask with a concerned tone. We then went across the street to the next client’s home. She lived in a little duplex house and I think we took her by surprise because she wasn’t quite dressed when we walked up. She greeted us very nicely and apologized to us for not being fully dressed because she had just woke up. Her room was very cluttered and I was unsure what to do with the bag of food, so I just set it down. She seemed like a very nice old woman and I found myself wanting to talk to her for a bit. She seemed really friendly and it’d be nice to hear a little bit about the life she’s had. However, we had to move on and are not advised to talk to the clients really. The next client was in an apartment building, which proved very difficult to get into. We couldn’t figure out how to buzz his apartment using the machine in the entryway, but luckily a family let us in the building anyway. We rode the elevator to the fifth floor and were instructed to call the client if we didn’t buzz him. His neighbor, seeing us three standing in the hallway holding a brown paper bag, was very friendly and offered to help us. We called the client who told us that he would be back soon and to leave it in the hallway by his door. The next delivery was to a person who would not be home but we were instructed to leave the food bag in a cooler outside of her door on the porch. The cooler had a sign that said “Thank You” with a heart or two drawn around the words. See the sign was really nice, gave me a warm volunteering feeling that we were talking about. The last two deliveries were in the same apartment building. One man seemed a little confused, he seemed very surprised that we were delivering food that day. The last man appeared to be blind and again, we didn’t really know how to handle the situation. Handing off of the bag was a bit awkward because the bag almost tore and we didn’t know if we should hand the bag to him or set it down instead.
All in all, I feel like the deliveries went well. The clients that we interacted with were all very pleasant, some more talkative than others. I think boundaries seem like the biggest issue. How much do we interact with the clients and how far into their houses do I go to set down the bags? Part of the awkwardness of the deliveries for me was whether to hand the bags of food to the client, or set them on the floor. I found myself wanting to talk to the clients more, but I had to remember that we were just there to deliver the food and not to socialize with them. Although, I think we did a good job of chatting with people if they showed interest. I definitely see the appeal of delivering meals on a regular basis, it would allow be able to build a little relationship with the people that you deliver meals to and also becoming more comfortable in deliveries as well. If I had a car here, I would definitely want to keep volunteering with Project Angel Heart on Saturdays, it is something very easy I could do for others around Denver. It’s appealing because it feels to me exactly like what getting involved “in the community” should be. Volunteering with a shelter or organization in a building feels more like you are getting involved with the community of that organization and that it is a kind of secondary community involvement. On the other hand, when delivering, I am driving around the community of Denver, interacting with the very people that make up the community where they live. It feels to me more like actually doing something for your community members and maybe that’s why it is appealing to me.