Out and About with The Place of Forsyth County

Submitted by Lorraine Lane

 

On Wednesday, August 4, I had the privilege of accompanying a volunteer from The Place of Forsyth County to deliver bags of food to four homebound senior citizens. Volunteers for The Place visit 16 senior citizens each week and deliver perishable and non-perishable items. The volunteers also take time to sit and visit, offering words of encouragement. 

Our first visit was with a client that does not live too far from the library. Ms. Suzanne struggles with back problems, so much so that I heard her moaning as we approached the front door because of the pain. We were able to distract her from the pain by sharing with her a brightly colored gift bag.  She couldn’t believe that the volunteers had remembered her birthday.

On our second visit we were greeted by Ms. Donna who was enjoying time on her front porch. When I asked if she liked to read, her eyes lit up! After telling her about FCPL’s mailbox books program I asked her how many items she would like each month, to which she replied, “ten.”  I had so much fun selecting her items this week and cannot wait to follow up with her to see if she enjoyed the selections. 

Our final visit was a joy to my heart! Ms. Betty, who is 89 years old, lives in a small home in the northeast end of the county. She had just been visited by her home health nurse and had received a bath. I could sense that she and the volunteer had a special relationship. We sat with her for a while, listening to stories about her family.  At one point she mentioned that she hadn’t been able to locate her glucose monitor. Having a son with diabetes, I know how important it is to stay on top of your blood sugar. Crawling around on the floor, I was able to locate the monitor and help her check her sugars.   

By the end of the route, I was able to sign up two ladies with mailbox books.  Ms. Betty will be receiving an audio player from GLS with a cartridge from Aurora Ministries with the entire bible.  Outreach continues to find new ways to serve the residents of Forsyth County by partnering with other organizations.  We look forward to heading back out with The Place in the near future to meet more of their clients.