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Feature Special Volunteers Aid At Central State “It mav be hard for you to understand this right now. hut you’ll learn to really love these •children," says Ur. Jean Hendricks, head of the Psychology. Department at Mercer. Having no previous experience with mentally retarded child ren. one might fina a trip to Central State Hospi tal at Milledgeville a bit disturbing, but by learn ing more of the Mercer Volunteer Program and the dedicated people who participate in it, one can easily see the love between volunteers and patients. Although the Mercer student volunteer pro gram has been in progress' for several years, a surge of interest developed during fall quarter 1968 when weekly a car load of students went over to help with recreation on the children's ward at the hospital. It is difficult to determine what caused the surge of interest, but Dr. Hen dricks, coordinator of the program, suggests that it resulted from the enthusiasm of Mercer stu dents who had worked at the hospital during the. summer and from the continuous efforts of the hospital personnel to encourage the students to help. The volunteer program has not changed drasti caily this year. Trips, to the hospital are made dhriost dally under the dires t ion of Connor Davis, a junior who began going to Milledgeville winter quarter, ol last year. Connor organizes the groups, assigns wards and days, and works with transportation - . The protects of the volunteer groups are many and varied: One uf the most ambitious, was a feeding program begun on Boland IV, a ward for severely retarded boys approximately between the ages of 10 and 17. Students organized them selves so that groups of three to eight were pro sent each afternoon to help with the evening feeding programs. Working with lvof Groves, a former Mercer student who is now an employee in the Psychology Department at Central State, they began by trying to teach the children to hold a spoon if they could not. Gradually many of the children learned not only to eat with a spoon rather than their hands but also to take their trays back to the food cart. The learning of these simple every day tasks was a dramatic and exciting accomplishment for the children. Not only did the eating situation of the ward improve tremendously, but the likelihood of each child having an adequate meal also increased. BY MARSHA MATTHEWS Other projects have included feeding programs on two other wards, Boone VIII and Boone IV, which is a ward for severely retarded children between the ages of fouj and eight. On Boone VIII the students also worked with individuals by attempting to teach them to talk and play. Offi cials at the hospital emphasized thg importance of-the walks and play periods when the Mercer volunteers give the children the opportunity to move outside the walls of the wards and play grounds for a look at the world beyond — if it is no more than a walk around the hospital grounds. Another project was a recent Saturdaytrip in which fifteen Mercer students took a group of residents of Unit IX to Six Flags. This program was coordinated by Alan Stanton, a sophomore at Mercer. Who may go'? The program is open- to anyone who wishes to volunteer. During next quarter there will be some slight changes. Students will be asked to volunteer for one afternoon each week for the entire quarter. Each student will be assigned a specific responsibility such as partici pating in a feeding program, recreation program, of work program in which he will teach a child to work puzzles or learn to talk Students will be asked to attend' sessions which will be led by hospilpl personnel who will spend^ some time orienting them. These officials will come, to Mercer to speak to students, but only students w ho have signed up officially will be, allowed to attend the sessions. The purpose 1 of this is to add depth to the program through emphasis on orien tation and training All volunteers are needed and welcomed. There is a wide range of possibilities concerning activities and new projects. Anyone interested should see Connor Davis and sign up with Dr. Hendricks’ secretary. Mrs. Mable Edmiston WHA T HAS IT MEANT? 'The most impressive evidence came last spring when the hospital personnel in the Unit asked for fifteen Mercer students to work during the summer, This re quest came because of the unusually outstanding leadership provided, by the volunteer students during the school year.