Hospice Volenteering doing free treatments.

[Lovebeauty14]

Hello Geeks.
I was wondering if any of you volunteer your services for charity? I have been thinking for a while, about once I'm all set up maybe volenteering in a Cancer hospice doing mini manicures, mini facials, etc for free. It all stems back to my boss, who was the loveliest boss in the world, and his poor wife died recently died of cancer, and it breaks my heart as they were both such lovely people with young children. I would love to make people who are going through something like this feel good about themselves again, even if it's for a little while. Does anyone do it and how do you go about it?
Thanks.

 

[deanosnana]

Good for you for wanting to give back! I have done this before. It is a very rewarding experience. A friend of a friend asked me to their event but I imagine you could call around to area hospices and ask if they'd be interested in your services.

Best of luck to you!

 

[scorpio34a]

I'm interested in offering this service too, so I'll keep an eye on your post to see what other people think.
Only thing I worried about was insurance and contra indications with medication etc?
Goodluck and I think it's a great idea.

 

[sophie72]

I help out with Look Good Feel Better charity helping ladies with cancer, helping with make up application in a local hospital. I think they would welcome more volunteers, you should get in touch with them. I have met some lovely ladies x

 

[gr8nailz]

As a breast cancer survivor myself, I thought it would be great to work as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society. So I provided pedicures to women who had recently had mastectomies. They loved the pampering as well as being able to talk to someone who had been through the same thing and was proof that it was survivable.

I gave it up because it was so hard on my back as well as my emotions. Many times I would just make it to my car before all those memories started pouring back.

 

[Moosebat]

Hi, I did this a while back for Isobel Hospice (not as a tech). I had to go through about 8 weeks of training even to be a volunteer. The course covered things like how to treat a patient at this vulnerable time, what you can expect, how to physically handle a patient, how to react ie you cant say certain things. It also covered reasons why you were doing it..some do it to feel better about themselves rather than wanting to give to another, judging people and how not to. We were put through all sorts of situations. As well as how to cope ourselves away from the hospice as can be very distressing. I know some others on the course were wanting to offer beauty treatments, head massage, reflexology etc etc but we couldn't just go in and start, we had to train then go before a panel and were then told if suitable.

It may not be the same in all Hospice but the training is certainly worth doing as a volunteer sometimes hears the worries/fears etc that a patient does not want to bother the medical staff with or burden their families and you need to know how to handle it.


I hope this doesnt put you off as I found it amazingly rewarding (I was working during the day so volunteered at the in-patient dept in the evenings) :Love:

 

[Lovebeauty14]

It doesn't put me off. With the situation with my boss I really wished there was more I could have done for them but he didn't want to talk about and I didn't want to intrude, so I ended up donating to Cancer Research and Macmillan once a month as it was the only thing I could think of. And then she died and I just kept thinking how unfair it was, I just WISHED I could have done something, anything to help. I think a beauty treatment, however small, would be a good distraction for just a little while, to make them feel human again after all the ordeal their bodies are going through. I feel really tearful now just thinking about my boss, he was such a happy man and in a few months he'd aged about 10 years, had White streaks in his hair and looked like a shell of himself. And as for her I don't even want to go into it, I never knew the full extent of what Cancer did. If there needs to be a cure for a disease, it's that. And if I can help people suffering from this horrendous disease, I'll do it.

 

[gr8nailz]

Patients really do feel like former images of themselves, especially cancer patients. Most are going through Chemo treatment so they've usually lost some or all of their hair, eye brows and eye lashes. Men feel the affects of their appearance just as women do. Most of us can hide when we're not feeling well. But when you've lost your hair, brows and lashes, people can look at you and tell something is wrong. You're not well and it's apparent. I hated that part. It was the worst.

Unforunately sometimes when someone is catastrophically ill, people tend to start pulling themselves away. They don't know what to do...what to say...how to help...how to make things better. Then the person who is ill feels deserted and alone. Everyone needs and deserves to feel loved. To have someone show you just a little bit of kindness at a time when every inch of your body hurts because it's been poked and prodded is more than you can imagine. To be made to feel human again is an even greater joy. A simple act of humanity is great karma.

 

[Malea423]

In the U.S. the American Cancer Society has a program "Look Good Feel Better" This is a program where beauty professionals work with cancer patients to help them learn how to care for themselves as there bodies change throughout the treatment process. I have included the link for those in the U.S. who would like to know more about the program.

Look Good...Feel Better | Helping Women With Cancer

 

[Lovebeauty14]

I've had a look at the look good, feel better website and will definitely do it as soon as I've got the required work experience.