RESOURCES:
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Caroline MacGregor. And with me today are Grace Yuan and Jillian Retzler. They are student volunteers with the non-profit Lori's Hands. And this organization builds mutually beneficial partnerships between college students and community members with chronic illness. First of all, welcome to both of you!
Grace Yuan: Thank you so much for having us!
Caroline MacGregor: I'll start with you, Grace. Tell me a little bit about how you became involved with Lori's Hands.
Grace Yuan: So, I was looking for volunteer opportunities with the community. I'm going to be a junior next year at U of M. And so, I thought I wanted to volunteer with the community throughout my time at U of M. And every year, we have something called Festifall, so, basically, all the organizations, however many there are, come out, and they kind of just like have stands up on campus. And we walk around and see if we want to join any. Actually, one of my friends is the president of Lori's Hands at U of M. And so I saw her, and I was just curious about what her organization was. And she said that they partner students with older members of our community, and we can help them out. And I thought that was a great experience. So, she led me to the Lori's Hands website. And then, you just fill out a form, you get partnered with someone, and you get partnered with your client as well.
Caroline MacGregor: Okay. And I know that the mission of Lori's Hands is tremendous, just the whole idea of students getting involved with community members who have illnesses or other needs. Jillian, turning to you, you're currently in Africa. Tell me where you are right now.
Jillian Retzler: I am currently in Tanzania.
Caroline MacGregor: And tell me about how you became involved with Lori's hands.
Jillian Retzler: So, I am a transfer student to the U of M, and I was looking through emails for pre-med students, and there was a link at the very bottom of the page that was talking about helping in your community and how to put yourself out there and create new connections and learn new skills. That's not a clinical position, but volunteer. And I went to the website, signed up, got approved, partnered with Gree as well as our client.
Caroline MacGregor: You're really providing companionship, aren't you?
Grace Yuan: Oh yeah! For sure! We have two clients, Jillian and I, and we go to their house or their apartment each week. And there are some tasks that we always do, like taking out the garbage. But I think what is most valuable for us is just talking to them. A lot of times, we don't realize, as college students, that it's hard for some people if they don't have a car or it's hard for them to walk around town. A lot of times, they're not really getting that communication with the other people, and I think that is one of the most valuable aspects of Lori's Hands. Our clients, honestly a lot of times, say like, "Oh, I love talking about the outside world!" I think one of our clients just said that to me this week. So, it's great to be able to talk to them, and we learn so much from their stories. And then, they get to hear about what's happening on like a college campus, so it's great!
Caroline MacGregor: Jillian, and I'll ask you this first, and then Grace, go ahead and give me your response. The impact of volunteering. How have you found building relationships with older adults living with chronic illnesses has shaped your personal and professional growth?
Jillian Retzler: Well, to start, it allows us to have better communication skills. Sometimes, maybe bringing up the chronic illness can be really hard for students to ask questions and to learn more about it. So, being able to create these established relationships and carry them over time, you sort of get to communicate better. And you build so much more empathy towards them as well, as well as other people within your community. You get to establish a really good friendship with your partner, which, I think, has been really rewarding.
Caroline MacGregor: Grace, as far as your personal and professional growth, how have you found this experience?
Grace Yuan: I think just because Ann Arbor is such a college town, so like my day-to-day, I'm interacting with other people of my age or my professors. And I think, especially as a pre-med student as well, it's really valuable to get to know, I guess, the older population as well, because those are the patients that we'll be seeing in the future professionally. And I think making that connection with the community as well is just very valuable. I mean, these aren't people that I'm going to be talking to on my day-to-day basis. And also, like for my job right now, I teach little kids tennis. And so, that is the exact opposite demographic.
Caroline MacGregor: That'd be fun!
Grace Yuan: No, it's great! It is really fun! But they are very different. And so, I think, professionally, because I know Jillian spoke kind of about the personal side, like making connections. More professionally, I will be interacting probably with older people in the future and making those connections now just seeing how their life looks like. I think it builds more empathy and compassion in us.
Caroline MacGregor: Tell me a little bit about how volunteering with Lori's Hands may play into your chosen career path in the future. Jillian, I'll start with you.
Jillian Retzler: Okay. So, I am a biology, health, and society major, and working with Lori's Hands plays into my future because I want to become a clinician in some way, shape, or form. So, being able to create these communication skills, as well as how do you help someone with a chronic illness, it's not just the day-to-day things, but, sometimes, they may need help with mobility, right? So, being able to take what they're doing because we are not sort of allowed to help them go anywhere. Seeing how they go through their day-to-day life and the doctors that they see all the time, it helps me understand what Michigan is going through as a society aspect of my major. But through the biology side and the bed track, I get to see the patient, actually, or the client, but I get see with having two clients the society side of it, which is great.
Caroline MacGregor: But we're really talking about the power of intergenerational connections here. What have you both learned from your clients and how have those relationships become meaningful beyond simply volunteering?
Grace Yuan: Something that I've learned is just that it's okay to just like change your mind and do something else with your career path. Both of them, I think have lived in a bunch of different places, and they've settled down in Ann Arbor, obviously, but I mean, life is long. I think that's one of the biggest things I've learnt from them. I've been working with one of our clients for like almost a year now. So, we text to make appointments. And I know she's always like looking forward to us coming over because she just wants to talk to us. And I mean, one of our clients was getting rid of her sewing machine. She asked us if we wanted it. And I was looking for sewing machine for my mom for Christmas. And so, that's just like a connection that I otherwise wouldn't have made. I know we help with stuff like buying things on Amazon, and I think that our clients really look forward to us coming over and we really look forward to just talking with other people that aren't our age. I think it's really great!
Caroline MacGregor: Jillian, tell me a little bit about your experience as far as how these relationships have impacted you and also a little about the dignity and interconnection that your service provides these clients in our community.
Jillian Retzler: Yeah. So, sort of to add on to Grace, you sort of just get to understand someone else's life. When you're in college, it's sort of like a bubble. Everyone's just with each other, and you don't get to have the family side anymore. You sort of live with one another and have those communications. But when you get to see your clients, you learn a lot about their family life and what it used to be like as a kid. Personally, I really bonded with one of my clients about some family issues. When she was talking to me about them, I was able to sort of add on and be like, "Wow! Something that you went through, I'm also going through. Please give me your advice of how I can sort of change what I'm doing or how to handle the situation." So, being able to create these personal connections, which it's not a different situation dependent on time. If someone went through something then, I'm going through it now. So, being to just get that help sometimes, whether it's her helping me or me helping her, you create that connection, which is really important. You get to learn about their health, their career, their family, what they did with their life, right, like small to big things, family issues, too, who they married and why they married them, right? You're just learning about them in random ways.
Caroline MacGregor: What would you tell other college students who are considering volunteering with Lori's Hands and basically the value of giving back to the community?
Jillian Retzler: The number one thing I would say is that you are making an impact, whether it's one day or going for one semester or doing it for years. Like, you are having an impact on somebody's life, and they are also having an effect on you. I really care about my clients, and they also care about me. They check in on me every week. They ask about what I'm doing outside.
Caroline MacGregor: Really?
Jillian Retzler: Whether its pre-med staff or family stuff. But I'm also asking about them, like if they're going to see their loved ones or something. You just create a significant impact on someone's life, and you're also able to establish a great experience. If you are a pre-med, you are getting great exposure to what that world may look like in whatever form you want to go into it, which, I think, is really important.
Caroline MacGregor: Turning to you, Grace. What would you tell other college students, like I just asked Jillian, about volunteering with Lori's Hands, what they can expect, and the value involved?
Grace Yuan: Yeah. I mean, I know a lot of people are looking for volunteer experience, and I'd recommend Lori's Hands for everyone. I think if you genuinely want to make a connection, Lori's Hands is the right place to do it. And so, I think just inform those connections is just really, really important. And then, like Jillian mentioned as well, you learn so much from the clients as well. They have so much experience and wisdom. That stuff that we're going through, they've also probably gone through and can give us advice. One of the other things that I've learned, a lot of the stuff we do is like organizing their house and stuff. And as, a college student who moves into rent, like, I just moved into my house, I feel like my organizing skills have actually gotten a lot better, so like household stuff like that as well. I mean, they teach you to take care of spaces, all of that. So, it's very valuable. I would recommend Lori's Hands for everyone.
Jillian Retzler: I just want to say that you learned teamwork really well and how to share the love. Like, you and your partner are helping out, but you're making a friend. Yes, you're meeting a client, but I also made a great friend after this, which was super important to me, especially as a transfer student.
Caroline MacGregor: Today, I've been joined by Grace Yuan and Jillian Retzler, and they are student volunteers with the non-profit organization, Lori's Hands. Lori's Hands builds mutually beneficial partnerships between college students and community members with chronic illness. Thank you to both of you for joining us today!
Grace Yuan: Thank you so much for your time!
Jillian Retzler: Thank you so much!
Caroline MacGregor: And this is 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
