We had to decide what volunteering program we wanted to do every Tuesday. There were over twenty choices ranging from taking care of kids in a troubled family, to teaching kids English, to playing with mentally and physically disabled kids. I chose to be a medical clown which combines two of the things I love most, acting and medicine.
About one month ago...
We had our interviews... and I got in!
Two weeks ago...
We had our orientation on Monday night where we met everyone from other schools who were being medical clowns, got some basic information, and watched a little bit of the movie Patch Adams. Friday morning we had our training session. First we learned about the proper way to enter and exit rooms. Then we learned how to make balloon figures such as a dog, giraffe, panda, flower, and a sword.
Last Tuesday...
We had our first day of volunteer work. I went with my friends Danielle, Dana, and Orit on the train to the hospital, Shaarei Tzedek. We got there and went to the bathroom to get dressed. We put stickers on our faces and put our hair in pigtails. We went up to the sixth floor and started visiting kids' rooms. We would go into a room and give them a sticker and then make a balloon doggie for them. They really loved it and their family who was there with them really enjoyed it too. While we were there we happened to meet a real medical clown who has been clowning for a few years. He let us come with him into some of the rooms to watch him work. It was so cool to watch a proffessional do it because he was so good at it. We were just starting out and needed a lot more practice.
Today...
We went to a different hospital, Hadassa Ein Kerem, which was much bigger and had more of a variety of people. When we were there we met up with my friend Esther. After walking around for about a half hour, we finally found the pediatric section. We went up to the third floor and did the same thing that we did before. It's always so muc fun to see how much happier a child gets when you give them a balloon animal. We also made balloons for siblings of the sick kids and that made them feel special too. When we got to the fourth floor, we saw a bunch of kids and their families in a play room. We probably spent half of our time there because it was just so much fun playing with all of the kids and making balloon animals for them. I'm so excited to go back every week. Shalom V'lehitraot!
About one month ago...
We had our interviews... and I got in!
Two weeks ago...
We had our orientation on Monday night where we met everyone from other schools who were being medical clowns, got some basic information, and watched a little bit of the movie Patch Adams. Friday morning we had our training session. First we learned about the proper way to enter and exit rooms. Then we learned how to make balloon figures such as a dog, giraffe, panda, flower, and a sword.
Last Tuesday...
We had our first day of volunteer work. I went with my friends Danielle, Dana, and Orit on the train to the hospital, Shaarei Tzedek. We got there and went to the bathroom to get dressed. We put stickers on our faces and put our hair in pigtails. We went up to the sixth floor and started visiting kids' rooms. We would go into a room and give them a sticker and then make a balloon doggie for them. They really loved it and their family who was there with them really enjoyed it too. While we were there we happened to meet a real medical clown who has been clowning for a few years. He let us come with him into some of the rooms to watch him work. It was so cool to watch a proffessional do it because he was so good at it. We were just starting out and needed a lot more practice.
Today...
We went to a different hospital, Hadassa Ein Kerem, which was much bigger and had more of a variety of people. When we were there we met up with my friend Esther. After walking around for about a half hour, we finally found the pediatric section. We went up to the third floor and did the same thing that we did before. It's always so muc fun to see how much happier a child gets when you give them a balloon animal. We also made balloons for siblings of the sick kids and that made them feel special too. When we got to the fourth floor, we saw a bunch of kids and their families in a play room. We probably spent half of our time there because it was just so much fun playing with all of the kids and making balloon animals for them. I'm so excited to go back every week. Shalom V'lehitraot!
sounds like such a rewarding experience! and i bet you are really good at it.
ReplyDeletep.s. you have to make balloon animals for us when you come home. thanks :)
yeah it's so much fun... Of course I'll make balloon animals for you, I could make a dog, giraffe, sword, flower, heart, crown...
ReplyDelete